Police have arrested at least 38 demonstrators during protests against the results of local elections in Serbia. Thousands of people have been taking to the streets for days – they accuse Prime Minister Vucic of election manipulation.
Serbian police say they have arrested at least 38 people who took part in a protest against the results of the recent parliamentary and local elections. As the police explained on Monday, the people are said to have broken into the town hall in Belgrade on Sunday.
On Monday evening, several thousand supporters of the Serbian opposition demonstrated again in Belgrade against alleged fraud in the local elections on December 17th. The participants in the rally marched through downtown Belgrade shouting “Thieves, thieves!”, as a reporter from the German Press Agency observed. Some demonstrators also marched to the police station, where they believed those arrested were located. It was the eighth protest in a row.
Governing party narrowly wins
President Aleksandar Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) won victories in early parliamentary and local elections in many cities, including Belgrade. In Belgrade, however, the presidential party’s success was very narrow.
According to the opposition, this victory is said to have come about through massive fraud. Tens of thousands of voters of the ruling party who do not live in Belgrade are said to have illegally cast a vote for the city assembly due to the organized registration of fictitious residences.
Opposition calls on EU to examine elections
Representatives of the “Serbia Against Violence” alliance said that they will not recognize the election results and instead call for the election to be canceled and repeated in a free and fair election. The alliance called on the EU to investigate the results. Some opposition politicians went on hunger strike.
US Ambassador Christopher Hill, criticized by the opposition for his supposedly pro-government comments, condemned “violence and vandalism” during the protests. However, on X, formerly Twitter, Hill added that “the legitimacy of democratic processes depends on transparency and the willingness of all parties to respect the will of the people as expressed at the ballot box.”
Vucic rejects allegations of manipulation
Vucic denied the allegations in a press conference on Sunday. His party said the elections were fair despite criticism from international and local election observers.
Russian Ambassador to Serbia Aleksandr Botsan-Kharchenko said there was “irrefutable evidence” that the West was supporting the opposition’s protests.