Aleksandar Vučić: A central figure of the SNS campaign despite not running for any position

Vučić at the celebration of the 15 years of SNS on 21 October 2023

Photo: X / @sns_srbija

Already the very name of the first electoral list announced by the Republic Electoral Commission for the snap parliamentary elections on December 17: “Aleksandar Vučić – Serbia Must Not Stop”,signals who will be the main figure of the campaign of the ruling party Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). It is obvious that Aleksandar Vučić now plays a central role in the campaign of SNS, although he is not a candidate for any position in these elections, since he won presidential elections only a year and a half ago, and not even the leader of the party anymore.  

Based on the first days of the campaign, it is fair to conclude President of Serbia will once again use his position and his regular activities in order to appear in the media and promote his party for the parliamentary elections. Already in the week preceding the official announcement of the elections, President of Serbia attended a series of manifestations and events – from the opening of highway sections to equipping hospitals – sending political messages and promises. Within six days, from 25 October to 30 October, he was a guest on as many as four television channels with national coverage.

Experts have repeatedly criticized what is usually termed “the public officials’ campaign” – merging of the official activities and party promotion – which became a particularly prominent constant in the electoral cycles during the Serbian Progressive Party’s rule. It is widely assessed that Vučić, in his role as President, is leading this type of campaign, abusing his position for the benefit of party’s interests. There is a significant overlap between his regular presidential activities and campaign promotion.

Vučić’s presence in the media has been predominant for years. This trend is expected to only increase further during the election process. Data from the think tank CRTA, released in June, showed that President of Serbia addressed the public directly almost 300 times in a year. A recent study by another think tank, BIRODI, confirms that in the first 10 months of 2023, President of Serbia was 14 times more present in the central information program of Radio Television of Serbia than the entire opposition.

Vučić, who formally resigned from the position of SNS president in May 2023, but according to numerous analysts remained a dominant figure in the party, is also its most popular member by far. According to last year’s general elections results, Vučić’s rating significantly exceeds the support enjoyed by the Serbian Progressive Party (he won almost 60% of the vote, while his party won 43%; it should be noted that the Socialist Party of Serbia, which won 11%, also supported Vučić’s presidential bid).

In previous years as well, the SNS electoral list was named after Aleksandar Vučić, though he was the party’s president at the time. Also, this is not the first time that Vučić is leading a campaign for his party even though he is not a candidate for any official position – a similar situation happened in the 2020 parliamentary elections.

Part of the professionals and politicians continue to interpret that Vučić’s participation in the campaign is contrary to Article 111 of the Serbian Constitution, according to which the President should express national unity. BIRODI points out that it is against the spirit of the Constitution and the laws of Republic of Serbia for Vučić to be the face of the party’s campaign.

For now, it is certain that, according to the new Law on Electronic Media, the ban on reporting from public meetings attended by public officials in the last 30 days of the campaign will not apply to Aleksandar Vučić, since, according to the provisions of the Law, he is not a public official who is also a candidate in the elections. Although there are numerous criticisms that Vučić’s official activities create an unfair advantage for the ruling party, legal restrictions in this case will not be applicable.