Thousands protest electoral fraud in Belgrade, opposition demands annulment
Several thousand people gathered in Belgrade on Dec. 30 to protest violations during parliamentary and municipal elections held in Serbia on Dec. 17, marching from the Terazije Fountain to the Constitutional Court, symbolically displaying "red cards" along the way, Serbian TV news channel N1 reported on Dec. 30.
Vice president of the opposition Freedom and Justice Party, Marinika Tepic, who has been on hunger strike since Dec. 18, addressed the protesters, gathered by the ProGlas initiative, and called on them to "unanimously, calmly and decisively say that they do not agree with the rewriting of the electoral will, that they do not agree with the meaninglessness of democracy and the rule of law, and that they do not agree with the birth of a naked autocracy in Serbia" and demanded new parliamentary and local elections within six months, as well as fundamental electoral changes.
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Miroslav Aleksic, leader of the Serbia Against Violence alliance, which placed second in the general election, told reporters that there would be no more rallies in front of the State Election Commission, but promised new large-scale protests in January, if the ruling government tries to form a majority in the Serbian National Assembly and Belgrade municipality.
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The ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) won 46.72% of the votes in the Dec. 17 snap parliamentary election, according to preliminary results from the state election commission.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has claimed victory in Serbian parliamentary elections on Dec. 17, with the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) winning a near-majority, the Reuters news agency reported on Dec. 18.
The opposition and OSCE monitoring mission said that the SNS had gained an unfair advantage through media bias, the improper influence of President Aleksandar Vucic, and voting irregularities — vote buying in particular.
On Dec. 24, opposition supporters tried to force their way into the Belgrade City Council. Several government employees were injured, and 38 protesters were detained.
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