Members of the parties who will run in the elections holding a banner “I Choose to Fight!”
Photo: FoNet
BELGRADE – Coalition “Serbia Against Violence”, which won 24% in December parliamentary election and 35% in the election in Belgrade, split last week over the dispute whether to boycott the new election in the capital due to unfair electoral conditions. The parties which will run in the election have named the new coalition “I Choose to Fight!” (“Biram Borbu!”)
Out of 65 seats in the parliament “Serbia Against Violence” won in December, parties which will run in the elections have 40 MPs, while those who will boycott have 25 MPs.
The parties which will be a part of this coalition are People’s Movement of Serbia (NPS), Green-Left Front (ZLF), Free Citizens Movement (PSG), and New Face of Serbia (NLS), as well as Ecological Uprising movement.
Democratic Party (DS) also decided to run even though it initially supported boycott. The party subsequently chose to support, as it stated, the will of the majority.
Meanwhile, parties which decided to boycott the election in Belgrade are Freedom and Justice Party (SSP), Serbia Centre (SRCE) and Together (Zajedno).
Conservative coalition NADA also decided to boycott the elections in Belgrade, having won 6% in the city in December.
These parties, however, have not taken a position on participating in the remaining 88 local elections, which will take place on 2 June, the same day as Belgrade election.
There are multiple media reports on local branches of these parties wanting to participate in these elections, which were already boycotted by the majority of the opposition in the last election cycle of 2020.
Đorđe Miketić, head of the Belgrade branch of the Together, was excluded from the party after he announced that he would also participate in the election.
What preceded the new coalition?
Following strong domestic and international criticism of the elections in December, the ruling parties did not form a majority in the capital of Belgrade and scheduled a new election.
The ruling parties also started a dialogue with the opposition in the National Assembly on how to implement the recommendations by OSCE/ODIHR observation mission. However, little has been done on their implementation so far.
In March, opposition coalitions “Serbia Against Violence” and NADA signed a document pledging they would not participate in further elections until electoral conditions improve. The parties which opted to boycott elections in Belgrade say they are respecting this agreement, as the conditions have not changed.
“If we had remained united (in boycott), the ruling parties would have accepted at least a minimum of our demands”, said Dragan Đilas, leader of the boycotting SSP, yesterday on N1 television. He criticised the parties which opted to run in the elections for abandoning the pledge made in March.
Meanwhile, parties which are participating in the elections characterise the boycotted as a surrender.
“The fight for election conditions continues. The opposition still insists on all demands. We are ready to win in an unfair fight”, said Radomir Lazović, co-leader ZLF, during yesterday’s announcement of the name of the new coalition.
Opposition already boycotted elections on all levels in 2020, also citing unfair conditions, including unbalanced media reporting and pressure on voters.
This triggered an early parliamentary election in 2022, but, according to the reports of the election observers, there was no significant improvement of the conditions. There was also no pressure on the ruling parties to call early local elections even though local parliaments lacked pluralism.
