Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announced that his ruling Serbian Progressive Party secured victories in all ten municipalities where local elections were held on March 29.
However, the vote was overshadowed by widespread reports of incidents, according to independent observers and opposition-affiliated media outlets.
Numerous irregularities were reported across most polling stations, alongside physical confrontations that left several citizens, activists, and journalists injured. Clashes were recorded in multiple locations, including Bor in eastern Serbia, Bajina Bašta in the west, and Kula in the northern province of Vojvodina.
Around 250,000 voters were eligible to cast ballots in these local elections, which were also held in Majdanpek, Kladovo, Aranđelovac, Smederevska Palanka, Lučani, Knjaževac, and Sevojno.
In all of these municipalities, power had previously been held by coalitions led by the ruling Serbian Progressive Party.
The elections are seen as another key test of the government’s strength and the opposition’s capacity, more than a year after the deadly incident in Novi Sad that sparked mass anti-government protests.
Notably, even the previous local elections in 2025 were, according to both domestic and international observers, marked by numerous irregularities, as well as verbal and physical attacks.
Brnabić Accuses Opposition: “They Don’t Want Elections for Democracy, but for Conflict”
Ana Brnabić, President of the National Assembly of Serbia, sharply criticized the opposition, claiming that their calls for elections are not driven by democratic principles, but rather by an intention to incite civil unrest.
In a post on the social media platform X, Brnabić stated that the opposition is using elections as a tool for political mobilization, rather than as a means to reflect the will of the people.
“They are not calling for elections for democracy but to provoke civil clashes. Elections are a way for them to ‘pump themselves up,’ not to hear the will of the people,” she said.
