Serbia to repeat Belgrade elections: Protesters force cancellation

12PUNTO FOREIGN NEWS

Following the local elections held in December, the opposition in Serbia began organizing protests, alleging that the elections were rigged. Despite Serbian officials denying the accusations, Mayor Sapic announced that a decision had been made to repeat the elections in Belgrade.

The elected mayor, Aleksandar Sapic, is a member of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). Speaking after the party's meeting on Saturday, Sapic stated, "We have made a decision to our detriment, but we are not afraid. We have raised the bar for legitimacy." 

The date for the repeat elections has not yet been announced. However, the SNS has announced that it has begun election preparations. 

Dobrica Veselinovic, running on behalf of the opposition Serbia Against Violence (SPN) coalition, described the announcement that the elections would be repeated as "a victory for the citizens, observers, civil society, and everyone else who recorded and photographed the fraud."

In the Belgrade elections, the SNS and SPN received 39.93% and 35.39% of the votes, respectively.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe had published a report suggesting that the elections were 'dominated' by President Vucic and that this, 'combined with the systemic advantages of the ruling party, created unfair conditions for candidates.'

News Source: 12punto