Brussels – This time it is a triumph for the party in power in Serbia, the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) closely controlled by the President of the Republic, Aleksandar Vučić. After the wave of protests and the objections of the international community on various critical issues that emerged in the conduct of the legislative and administrative elections of 17 December 2023, the capital Belgrade returned to voting yesterday (June 2). for the new composition of the municipal council. However, in the overwhelming victory of the party in power for 12 years at a national level (and 11 in the capital), new possible irregularities and violence emerged, as well as a now exasperated nationalist rhetoric.
“We deplore the threats and attacks suffered by journalists while covering the June 2 elections“, is the complaint from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on what happened yesterday in Belgrade: “Journalists have a crucial role in covering the elections, to inform the public about the candidates, their platforms and ongoing developments.” The OSCE, which had already denounced a whole series of weaknesses in the conduct of the last round of voting at national and local level, continues to urge “political leaders, public officials and authorities to unequivocally condemn and promptly investigate all cases of violence and threats against journalists”.
It is in this context that the Serbian Progressive Party won 64 out of 110 seats in the Belgrade City Councilaccording to what emerges from the final results of the vote counting, and now ex-water polo player Aleksandar Šapić is ready to become mayor. Unlike the December elections, the opposition ran divided, with some movements deciding to boycott the vote – voter turnout stopped at 46 percent – while the others sided with the candidate Savo Manojlović (for the ‘I’m Belgrade too’ coalition) or with Dobrica Veselinović (for ‘Let’s choose Belgrade’). What also pushed Vučić’s party to the polls was the wave of ultra-nationalist rhetoric released in the country after the vote at the United Nations General Assembly on the establishment of International day of reflection and commemoration of the Srebrenica genocidewhich the Serbian president himself leveraged to unite the voter base of the party in power.
Tensions between the EU and Serbia after the December elections
The six months that passed between the early legislative elections of 17 December 2023 and the repetition of the local elections in the capital Belgrade yesterday were anything but peaceful between Brussels and Belgrade, considering what happened at the polls at the end of last year. In the face of fraud and numerous illegal actions at the polls, thousands of people had taken to the streets for weeks, responding to the call of the parties and movements united in the coalition ‘Serbia against violence’, just defeated by the Serbian Progressive Party. The OSCE-led election observation mission also noted “the misuse of public resources, the lack of separation between official functions and campaign activities, as well as intimidation and pressure on voters, including cases of vote buying“, putting the government with its back to the wall to at least repeat the vote in the capital.
Precisely the issue of respect for democratic standards has exacerbated relations between Vučić’s Serbia and the EU institutions. On the occasion of the elections on 17 December, the MEP and member of the OSCE parliamentary delegation Viola von Cramon-Taubadel (Greens/Ale) had confirmed that he had “witnessed cases of organized transport of voters from Republika Srpska [l’entità a maggioranza serba della Bosnia ed Erzegovina, ndr]” in Belgrade without being formally registered as residents. Hence the European Parliament asked the EU Commission to take heavy action in the event that the involvement of the authorities in electoral fraud was ascertained, including the “suspension of EU funding on the basis of serious violations of the rule of law” and, implicitly, a possible halt to accession negotiations. Outgoing Prime Minister Brnabić then closed the door to an international investigation, “because it would require the annulment of national sovereignty”, but in Brussels there still remain major concerns about irregularities at the polls and the lack of complete transparency in the electoral process.
While inaction reigns in the Council of the EU (dictated above all by the veto power of the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbánon any type of action against the ally Vučić), the new government led by Miloš Vučevića close ally of the President of the Republic and leader of the Serbian Progressive Party after Vučić himself resigned last year. The new executive has placed itself in perfect continuity with the previous one (ex-prime minister Brnabić is now speaker of the National Assembly) in foreign policy – both for the path towards EU membership and for maintaining relations with Russia and China – but also in issues considered to be domestic politics ( that is, the relationship with Kosovo, whose independence has never been recognized since 2008). Two particularly controversial figures appear among the members of the Vučević cabinetso much so that they were included in the list of people sanctioned by the United States in the last year: the former head of Serbian intelligence, Aleksandar Vulinand the veteran politician and business owner based in Russia Nenad Popovic.
Finally, the case of the violence suffered by the leader of the opposition Republican Party should not be forgotten, Nikola Sandulovićtaken by the Serbian secret services on January 3 and severely beaten during detention for having paid homage to the grave of Adem Jashari, one of the founders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). Members of the Serbian Security Intelligence Agency (BIA) allegedly kidnapped and tortured Sandulović, who was then detained in Belgrade’s central prison without access to independent medical care. Among the people responsible for the violence there would also be Milan Radoičićdeputy head of Lista Srpska (the main party representing the Serb minority in Kosovo and closely controlled by President Vučić) who among other things has already admitted to having organized the armed attack in northern Kosovo at the end of September last year. The former head of Serbian intelligence – now a member of the new government – Vulin had reportedly personally ordered Sandulović’s arrestbut the defense lawyer pointed the finger at President Vučić.
Find further information on the Balkan region in BarBalcani newsletter hosted by Eunews
