The European Union and international monitors have raised concerns about the fairness of Serbia ’s early parliamentary election on Oct. 25 as political tensions run high in the country.
The EU mission in Serbia, a delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights all warned that the election is taking place in an atmosphere of deep polarization between the populist government of former President Aleksandar Vucic and its opponents.
The EU mission said on Tuesday it was “concerned by several reported incidents of violence which have no place in an electoral process.” A statement urged “all relevant institutions to act swiftly in cases of possible irregularities during the campaign and on election day.”
The high-stakes polls will decide whether Vucic will return as prime minister after facing almost two years of student-led protests. Vucic stepped down in September, more than seven months before the end of his second and final term, to lead his Serbian Progressive Party’s campaign for a majority in Serbia’s 250-seat parliament and extend the populists’ 14-year rule.
Analysts have predicted a tight race, a high turnout and a referendum-like atmosphere between Vucic’s SNS party and the Students’ List ticket, an electoral arm of the youth movement behind the mass protests that started after a train station tragedy on Nov. 1, 2024, that killed 16 people.
Almost daily protests have shaken Vucic’s previously unchallenged rule in Serbia. Critics say that the populist leader has relied on pro-government media and full control over institutions for a prolonged grip on power. His alleged crackdown on democracy and civil liberties has stalled Serbia’s effort at EU membership.
Vucic and his allies have often labelled the student-led protests, critical media and civil society groups as foreign agents attempting to create chaos on election day without providing evidence.
