Several groups of young Serbs occupied the center of the Serbian capital to demand a recount of votes and to denounce alleged fraud in the parliamentary elections on the 17th of this month in Serbia.
Young people block one of Belgrade’s main arteries and the entrance to the Ministry of Public Administration with tents and also demand a revision of the electoral list.
The young people’s intention is to maintain the blockade until Saturday afternoon, when they will join a new demonstration in support of the opposition’s request to annul the elections, organized by the recently founded and influential citizens’ initiative ProVoto (ProGlass).
The demonstrators set up a real camp and closed the intersection with the street where the ministry is located, planned music shows and film screenings, set up kitchens and organized debates with experts on elections and voters’ rights.
The young protesters are demanding a check to see whether the electoral rolls contain “fictitious voters” who they say were added to the register to vote in favor of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, a populist, who was denounced by his critics accused of authoritarianism and who won early elections with an absolute majority.
Protests have been taking place since election day to denounce alleged election fraud. The demonstrations are organized by the ‘Serbia against Violence’ (SPN) coalition, the main opposition party.
The young people guarantee that they will not end the demonstrations until their demands are met and also warn the opposition not to occupy the acquired seats in parliament, so as not to give legitimacy to the electoral process, the transparency of which is also mentioned. is questioned by the European Union (HUH).
The SPN does not recognize the election results and demands a repeat, and three of its deputies are on hunger strike.
Serbia held elections for the national parliament, the Vojvodina regional assembly and municipal elections in 65 cities on the 17th, including Belgrade, where the opposition SNP party hoped for a victory.
According to the official results, the SNS, which was in power, won the parliamentary elections with 47% of the votes, twice as many as the SPN.
Vucic, who has been in power for more than a decade, rejects accusations of fraud and accuses the opposition of trying to destabilize the country.
In a preliminary report, international observers reported pressure on voters, including vote buying, misuse of public resources and a lack of separation between certain official positions and election campaign activities.
A number of Serbian non-governmental organizations also denounced the disregard for the will of citizens in the elections.
On Sunday evening, several protesters tried to force their way into Belgrade City Hall, breaking windows, before being repelled by police.
A court in Belgrade has announced that four protesters arrested on Sunday will remain in custody for another 30 days, accused of “violent behavior during a public meeting”.
Six other people are under house arrest on the same charges and one has been released, the court announced.
Seven detained protesters, who pleaded guilty, were sentenced to suspended prison sentences of up to six months and a fine of 20,000 Serbian dinars (171 euros) each.
On Tuesday, Serbia’s opposition announced it will boycott the new vote scheduled for Saturday in 30 polling stations across the country, saying the repeat is insufficient to accept the overall outcome of the December 17 election.
Source: DN
