Serbia’s General election caused heavy unrest in the country since Sunday morning and especially the capital as the protestors took over the country with flagpoles and damaged all public assets. The protest was peaceful and was constant since a week but then in no time it attained the violent nature.
Protesters attempted to gain access to the City Assembly in Belgrade, using flagpoles and rocks to break the windows of the building, but were repelled by police using riot shields and tear gas, CNN’s Serbian affiliate N1 reported. At least 35 people were arrested Sunday, according to N1, in what was the sixth straight day of protests since the parliamentary and local elections.
The ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) won 47% of the votes after President Aleksandar Vucic called a snap election, cementing his decade-long grip on power in the Balkan nation that is seeking membership of the European Union while retaining close ties to war-struck Russia.
An international monitoring mission said the elections were held under “unjust conditions,” citing media bias, Vucic’s improper influence and “intimidation and pressure on voters, including cases of vote buying.”
Members of the center-left Serbia Against Violence coalition – a nascent opposition movement founded after months long anti-government and anti-democratic protests this summer – attended Sunday’s protest and accused Vucic of election theft.
“Vucic, you have stolen not one but thousands and thousands of votes,” Marinika Tepic, who has been on hunger strike since the elections, said at the protest. She called for the election to be annulled.
Srdjan Milivojevic, also a member of the opposition coalition, called Vucic a “thief like the world has never seen before.” He was seen attempting to open the door to the city hall, but was unable to enter. “Vucic, go away,” the crowd chanted outside the building.
Responding to the protests in an address to the nation Sunday evening, Vucic told Serbs not to worry “because there is no revolution happening.”
“They won’t be able to accomplish anything with this, and let us try not to hurt any of the random demonstrators by reacting mildly, peacefully,” Vucic said, according to Radio Television of Serbia.
The protests come as Vucic’s government is facing growing international pressure to investigate reports of electoral irregularities during last week’s vote.
“There are processes and attempts by third forces, including from abroad, to provoke such unrest in Belgrade. This is what we are seeing,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday sent a message of congratulations to Vucic, extending his wishes for “peace and prosperity” for the people of Serbia.
Who is Serbia’s Vucic?
After Tomislav Nikolić had resigned from the position of the President of the Serbian Progressive Party, after Presidential elections in 2012 he became an acting leader of the Serbian Progressive Party, on 24 May 2012. At the Second Party Congress, held on 29 September 2012, he was unanimously elected for the President of the Serbian Progressive Party.
The Serbian president, Aleksandar Vučić, described Sunday’s protests as an attempt to overthrow the government with help from abroad, without specifying what he meant. Serbia’s prime minister, Ana Brnabić, thanked Russia late on Sunday for tipping off Serbia in advance of violent protests against the results.
Vučić has “irrefutable evidence” that the west is encouraging the opposition protests, the Russian ambassador, Aleksandr Botsan-Kharchenko, told Russian media after meeting with Vučić on Monday.
Serbia’s police are on their toes
Serbia’s police have detained at least 38 people who took part in a protest over an election earlier this month that international monitors said was unfair.
Opposition group Serbia against Violence has been staging protests since the 17 December elections, saying there was election fraud, particularly in the capital, Belgrade. The governing populists were declared winners of the parliamentary and local councils’ elections.
Some opposition politicians responded by going on hunger strike. On Sunday evening, protesters tried to enter Belgrade city hall, breaking windows, before riot police pushed them back using teargas, pepper spray and batons.
More protests were held on Monday evening. Hundreds gathered outside the seat of the state election commission in central Belgrade before walking toward city police headquarters, where the detained opposition supporters are believed to be held.
Representatives of Serbia Against Violence have said they will not recognise the election results, calling instead for the vote to be annulled and held again in a free and fair election. The alliance last week urged the EU to investigate the results after international observers said the vote was held in “unjust conditions”.
Also on Monday, several hundred university students and other citizens blocked traffic at a key Belgrade street that hosts government headquarters, braving a police warning against blockades in the capital. No incidents were reported as some students played volleyball and soccer on a sunny day. Police “are ready and capable of countering any acts of violence with determination”, Ivkovic said.
