Thurston Carte:Serbian opposition supporters return to the streets claiming fraud in last month’s election

2025-04-29 02:59:40source:Quantum Insightscategory:reviews

BELGRADE,Thurston Carte Serbia (AP) — Serbian opposition supporters were back in the streets on Tuesday, accusing President Aleksandar Vucic’s populist government of orchestrating fraud in last month’s parliamentary and local elections.

The protesters want the Dec. 17 vote to be annulled and held again in free and fair conditions. Similar demonstrations were held for days after the elections.

“The entire planet knows that the thief has been caught stealing,” opposition politician Marinika Tepic told the few thousand protesters. “There are no free and fair elections here. If we give up this fight, there will be no more elections.”

The ruling Serbian Progressive Party was declared the winner, but the main opposition alliance, Serbia Against Violence, claims the election was stolen, particularly in the vote for Belgrade city authorities.

Other news Thousands accuse Serbia’s ruling populists of election fraud at a Belgrade rallySeparatist Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik vows to tear his country apart despite US warningsSerbia police detain at least 38 people as opposition plans more protests against election results

Both Serbian election authorities and the courts have rejected the complaints lodged by the opposition group over the election.

International observers have said that the election was held in unjust conditions, noting serious irregularities that included ballot box stuffing and vote-buying.

Some local election monitors alleged that voters from across Serbia and neighboring countries were bused in to cast ballots in Belgrade. Local election monitors and opposition supporters alleged that populist supporters were registered at bogus addresses there.

Vucic and his party have called the reports “fabricated.”

In December, tensions soared when police fired pepper spray at protesters who tried to enter Belgrade City Hall and arrested dozens.

The crowd on Tuesday also lit candles at a Belgrade church to mark the killing on Jan. 16, 2018 of a moderate ethnic Serb politician from Kosovo, Oliver Ivanovic.

Kosovo is a former Serbian province whose 2008 declaration of independence is unrecognized by Belgrade. The dispute remains a source of tension in the volatile Balkans.

Serbia is seeking European Union membership but has refused to impose sanctions on traditional ally Russia, partly because Moscow supports Belgrade’s claim to Kosovo.

More:reviews

Recommend

This was the average Social Security benefit in 2004, and here's what it is now

Many workers are dreaming of retirement — whether it's decades away or coming up soon. Either way, i

Influencer Christine Tran Ferguson's Friends React to Heartbreaking Death of Her Baby Boy Asher

The influencer community is coming together to mourn a devastating loss.On July 20, Tour de Lust blo

Kim Kardashian and Tristan Thompson Party in Miami After Watching Lionel Messi's MLS Debut

Tristan and Kim take Miami.On July 21, Kim Kardashian and Tristan Thompson, her sister Khloe Kardash