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Voters in Serbia are voting for the presidential election, with populist President Aleksandar Vucic, who could win another five-year term at the helm of the state.
Voting will also take place in the parliamentary elections, in which the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) is also expected to dominate. At the same time, local elections are being held for several municipalities, including the Serbian capital, Belgrade.
Albanian parties are also running in the Serbian parliamentary elections, which will run on two lists: the Coalition of United Albanians and the Albanian Democratic Alternative – with a total of 20 candidates.
Five years after winning his first term as president, Vucic continues to be the dominant force in Serbia, preaching peace and stability at a time when Europe is facing its biggest conflict since World War II.
But his critics say he has increased control of power through control of the media and the government, to the point that last month, he showed that 43 percent of respondents said they did not believe the April 3 election would be free.
“In recent years, the ruling Serbian Progressive Party has consistently violated political rights and civil liberties, putting pressure on the independent media, the opposition and civil society organizations,” Freedom House said in a statement. last for Serbia, ranking the country in 62nd place out of 100 countries in the index of freedom for 2021.
Vucic’s main challenger in this election is former army chief Zdravko Ponos – a retired general who emerged as a candidate for the pro-European Union opposition camp.
“Ponosh, 60, is a” center-right candidate and it seems that the opposition wanted to find a person who could be a good candidate for what is considered in the political scene in Serbia, which leans to the right, “he said. Bojan Klacar, managing director of the polling agency Center for Free Elections and Democracy.
However, Serbs seem unlikely to vote for a change of leadership, in terms of the presidency, or even at the legislative level, even though the government has been embroiled in a series of controversies in recent months.
A poll by the Belgrade-based Institute for European Affairs predicts Vucic will win in the first round with 60 per cent of the vote, and Ponos will come in second with 18 per cent.
And according to a poll by the institute, the new parliament – which has 250 seats – is likely to consist of four or five parties: the ruling SNS with 57 per cent, the United Serbia with 19 per cent, the Socialist Party of Serbia with 6.6 per cent. percent, Moramo (We should) with 5.7 percent. Meanwhile, the NADA (Hope) coalition, according to the poll, will be around the 3 percent threshold, and this party can cross the threshold and enter Parliament.
Such a result would be a big win for the SNS as it would be the first time this party would get over 50 per cent of the vote.
6.5 million voters have the right to vote in the elections in Serbia. Polling stations open at 07:00 and will close at 20:00.
Meanwhile, Serbs in Kosovo, with dual citizenship will vote in municipalities within Serbia, as the Government of Kosovo did not allow these elections to be held within the territory of the state. Kosovo said it had asked Serbia to send a request to the Government in Pristina for elections to be held, but Belgrade refused.
The Quint states had expressed “great disappointment” with the decision of the Government of Kosovo to not allow the holding of Serbian elections./REL/
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