Serbia’s authoritarian President Vucic has announced new elections in the country for mid-December. There had previously been massive protests against the government for months. The conflict with Kosovo also plays a role.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has dissolved parliament and called early elections for December 17th. The parliamentary elections will take place at the same time as local elections in 65 municipalities, including the capital Belgrade.
The Serbs elected the current parliament in April of the previous year. The nationalist presidential party SNS, together with allies, had a comfortable majority. Early elections are common in Serbia. Vucic rules with authoritarian methods; he controls the media and the judiciary.
Largedemonstrations over several months
There had previously been weekly demonstrations against the government over a long period of time, triggered by two shooting rampages in May that left 18 dead. Tens of thousands of participants in the protests accuse the media controlled by Vucic of fomenting a climate of hatred and glorification of violence.
The conflict with Kosovo, a former province whose independence Serbia has not yet recognized, also plays a role. The EU-mediated talks present a plan to normalize relations between the two countries, which provides for mutual de facto recognition, although not under international law. Belgrade firmly rejects this.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed during a visit to Belgrade on Tuesday that both countries must step up the normalization of relations after the recent flare-up of violence if they want to join the EU.