BELGRADE – During tonight’s session, Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) officially proclaimed the list submitted by the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and its partners called “Aleksandar Vučić – Serbia Must Not Stop”.
It marks the fifth consecutive time, since 2014, that the first list on the ballot will be the list of SNS and that this list will carry the name of Aleksandar Vučić.
In Serbia, the order of lists on the ballot are determined based on the order of their submission. Over the last decade, SNS has always been the fastest and most efficient in gathering the necessary signatures.
Its critics have pointed out that this has partially been the case due to the party’s command of the country’s administrative resources.
For the first time, however, Aleksandar Vučić’s name will be in the name of the list despite him not being the president of the party anymore. Vučić stepped down as party leader in May, but remains by far the most popular member of SNS.
Miloš Vučević, current party leader, is at the top of the list, followed by Prime Minister Ana Brnabić. Speaker of the previous parliament Vladimir Orlić is in the fifth place.
The list was submitted by the coalition of SNS and its smaller partners – Social Democratic Party of Serbia which evolved from the Bosniak Sandžak Democratic Party, Party of United Pensioners of Serbia, Serbian People’s Party and the Socialists’ Movement.
For the first time, also, the right-wing Healthy Serbia, party of the mayor of municipality of Čajetina in southwestern Serbia, will also be on the list.
The ideological heterogeneity of SNS’s coalition partners, ranging from pro-EU to pro-Russian and from nominal left to nominal right has always been a feature of its coalitions.
Out of the first 100 spots on the list, 86 belong to SNS and 14 to its smaller partners.
Vučić at the celebration of the 15 years of SNS on 21 October 2023
Photo: X / @sns_srbija
