Fraud allegations against Vucic
Protesters attack Belgrade City Hall
December 25, 2023, 12:50 a.m
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A week after the parliamentary elections in Serbia, demonstrators try to storm Belgrade City Hall. Thousands of people take to the streets in the capital and demand that the election be annulled. President Vucic, who is suspected of fraud, speaks of dramatic scenes.
During protests against the elections in Serbia, which were overshadowed by allegations of fraud, demonstrators attacked the city hall in the capital Belgrade and clashed with the police. The demonstrators threw stones, poles and eggs at the town hall, broke windows and tried to break into the building, as a journalist from the AFP news agency reported on site. Police pushed the demonstrators back and used pepper spray, among other things. The demonstration was broken up around 10 p.m. local time.
President Aleksandar Vucic said after the protests that two police officers were “seriously injured” and other officers suffered minor injuries. More than 35 people were arrested. The right-wing politician spoke on the government-affiliated channel Pink TV of an attempt to “forcibly take over state institutions.” It was a planned attack: “Everything was prepared in advance,” said Vucic. There is “solid evidence” of this. The president had previously spoken of “dramatic scenes”. But there is “no revolution underway”. The Interior Ministry called on demonstrators not to use violence.
Berlin declares disapproval
President Vucic’s right-wing populist SNS party clearly won in the parliamentary elections on Sunday last week. Local elections were also held that day.
An international observer mission reported a number of “irregularities” after the election, including cases of violence, vote buying and the stuffing of ballot boxes with fraudulent ballots. Citing this report, the Foreign Office in Berlin said the violations were “unacceptable for a country with EU candidate status.”
The election results sparked days of protests in front of the Serbian Election Commission building. Several representatives of the loose opposition alliance Serbia Against Violence went on hunger strike to have the election results annulled.