Serbians are heading to the polls this Sunday, October 25, for another snap parliamentary election – the third in five years. In it, a student movement born from a citizens' initiative will aim to end the 14-year rule of Aleksandar Vučić and the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).
According to preliminary data from the Center for Free Elections and Democracy (CeSID), 12 percent of voters had voted by 09:00 a.m., compared to 5,2 percent at the same time in the 2023 elections. This estimate is based on data from 750 polling stations.
CeSID announced that by 09:00, more than 70 irregularities had been reported during the voting.
According to this organization, cases of photographing ballots, using phones, voting outside booths, and family voting have been identified, including one report that a voter voted on behalf of another person.
Clashes between members of polling station councils, temporary interruptions of voting, incidents and threats against voters, as well as problems with election material and voter verification, have also been reported.
"Particularly concerning is the obstruction of observers' access. In some polling stations, observers were not allowed access, so we must contact the responsible authorities and intervene so that they can carry out their work," CeSID said.
Polling stations are open from 07:00 to 20:00, and 6.450.523 citizens are eligible to vote. Voting is taking place in 8.392 polling stations, of which 93 are located abroad.
Vučić resigned as president at the end of September. Since he cannot run for a third term, he now aims to become prime minister, a post he held from 2014 until he was elected president in 2017.
However, the election campaign has been accompanied by growing concerns that there may be electoral manipulation.
Zgjedhjet po ndiqen nga afër nga Bashkimi Evropian, i cili e ka kritikuar Serbinë për prapakthim në demokraci nën udhëheqjen e Vuçiqit./REL
