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BELGRADE (Reuters) – Eight police officers were injured and 38 people arrested in Serbia as part of an opposition protest demanding the annulment of the results of parliamentary and local elections held a week earlier, Serbian police said Monday.
Thousands of people gathered in Belgrade, the Serbian capital, on Sunday to demand the annulment of the results of the vote which international observers said they considered unfair.
Protesters broke windows in the main entrance to city hall, before police used tear gas to disperse them around 10 p.m. (2100 GMT).
According to police chief Ivica Ivkovic, two of the eight injured officers suffered serious injuries.
“We will continue to work to maintain peace and order and we expect further arrests in connection with last night’s protests,” Ivica Ivkovic told a news conference.
Opposition parties accused the police of using excessive force, and images could be seen on social media of police beating demonstrators in streets near the town hall.
Outgoing Prime Minister Ana Brnabic thanked Russian intelligence for providing information on the opposition’s planned activities. “This statement will not be very popular in the West,” commented Ana Brnabic, a member of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), during a television program.
A candidate for membership in the European Union, Serbia has however resisted pressure from Western countries to introduce sanctions against Russia, one of its closest allies.
An international observation mission found on Monday that President Aleksandar Vucic’s SNS had an unfair advantage, benefiting from favorable media treatment, inappropriate influence from the head of state and irregularities such as buying votes.
The opposition, led by the center-left Serbia Alliance Against Violence, said protests would continue on Monday and students planned to block traffic.
According to the national electoral commission, the ruling populist party won 46.72% of the vote in the early legislative elections.
Serbia Against Violence came in second with 23.56% of the vote, and the Socialist Party of Serbia came in third with 6.56% of the vote.
(Reporting Ivana Sekularac; French version Kate Entringer)
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