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The elections in Serbia cannot be described as free: President Aleksandar Vucic has set up an entire system to ensure his party’s election victory.
Opposition politician Djordje Miketic is surprised when Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic suddenly talks about him on television. “He said he knew something about me and that I should be ashamed,” says the MP.
The next day, Miketic is sent a screenshot of a private sex video. There is also a warning that he should keep quiet in the future. He does the opposite, publishes the warning along with a screenshot on social media and accuses Vucic of being responsible.
After all, the president knows the content of the video. A video that was stolen from Miketic during a break-in over three years ago and whose existence only he and the blackmailers know about at the time. The president wants to send a message to everyone who questions his power: “I know everything about everyone. Don’t mess with me.”
The institution in the service of power
The episode shows an example of how the government abuses institutions and media for its own purposes. This increases during election campaigns, says the non-governmental organization CRTA. She monitors the elections.
It starts with media reporting, says Tamara Brankovic from CRTA. “The governing party receives 75 percent of the primetime coverage on national TV channels.” There is also a strong focus on Aleksandar Vucic as a person. Even though he is not standing for election as president, he dominates the discussions.
Legend:
Although President Aleksandar Vucic himself is not running, he can be seen on numerous election posters.
SRF / Janis Fahrländer
In recent years he has managed to concentrate power in the country on himself. He and his party now dominate all levels of the country and use the institutions for their own interests. Employees of state-owned companies, for example, would have to guarantee a certain number of electoral votes. Otherwise they risked losing their job. CRTA has received several such reports.
A shady call center
Current research by the independent center for investigative journalism CINS shows how the Vucic system works in practice. The journalist Ivana Milosavljevic was hired by a call center that runs election campaigns for the ruling SNS party.
Legend:
Journalist Ivana Milosavljevic has uncovered illegal activities by the ruling party.
SRF / Janis Fahrländer
She was quickly given conditions for this: “I was told that I had to vote for SNS and prove it with a photo.” In return, she can also work on election Sunday and receive three times her salary for that day.
For the journalist it is clear: the case exemplifies part of the system that Vucic has built up over the last few years and which should ensure his party’s election victory again on Sunday.