Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has claimed victory in snap parliamentary elections, saying his party is heading for an absolute majority.
His Serbian Progressive Party, or SNS, is set to win almost 47% of the vote, according to projections. Opposition parties under the Serbia Against Violence (SPN) banner were well behind with around 23%, but they claimed electoral fraud favoring the government and called for a recount.
Initial results projected the SNS had won more than half of the 250 seats in the National Assembly. President Vucic hailed the results, saying, “My job was to do everything in my power to secure an absolute majority,” to his supporters.
The loose opposition Serbia Against Violence alliance, or SPN, had hoped to win control of Belgrade in Sunday’s local elections. It was formed after two mass shootings in May which sparked huge protests. Despite the SPN’s hopes, initial results showed Mr. Vucic’s party slightly ahead in the capital.
In a statement, SPN claimed electoral fraud. The coalition said, “More than 40,000 non-residents were brought to Belgrade,” and demanded the annulment of the vote in the capital, and said it might call for protests.
Results overnight from Serbia’s 8,273 polling stations confirmed the ruling party’s lead. The SNS has been in power since 2012 but there have been three elections in the past three years. As well as voting for parliament, Serbians were deciding on Sunday who would control 65 local authorities.
Opposition parties said the massacres in May reflected a culture of rhetorical and physical violence promoted by the ruling party and its allies in the media.
The protests grew into demonstrations against President Vucic and his SNS party. Despite the uncertainty, President Vucic told supporters that the party had seen off the opposition challenge in Belgrade and that he was confident the capital would once again be run by former water polo star Aleksandar Sapic, who merged his party with the Progressives.
A projection by CeSID/Ipsos early on Monday gave the Progressives 48 seats in Belgrade to the opposition’s 43. Turnout nationally was estimated at 59.1%. Local observers reported various irregularities on Sunday, including voters being bussed in from Bosnia-Herzegovina to vote in Belgrade.
Serbia is a candidate to become a member of the European Union and President Vucic is under pressure from both the EU and the US to normalise relations with Kosovo. Kosovo declared unilateral independence from Serbia in 2008, and while it is recognised by more than 100 UN members, Serbia has refused to do so – backed by allies like Russia, China, and five EU members.
Some 95,000 ethnic Serbs live in Kosovo and those who wanted to vote had to cross into Serbia to cast their ballot.