International election observers criticize Serbia’s vote for a string of irregularities

Observers, including representatives of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), made the accusations hours after Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced his party’s victory in parliamentary and local government elections.

Later on Monday, election officials in Belgrade confirmed the victory of the right-wing populist Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) in the weekend elections.

According to detailed but not yet confirmed results, the SNS won around 46% of the vote in the parliamentary elections. votes, while the main opposition coalition received only 23.5 percent. of votes.

“Election day went smoothly but was marred by isolated incidents of violence, procedural violations and frequent allegations of organizing and busing voters to support the ruling party in local elections,” the International Election Observation Mission said in a statement.

“More serious irregularities were observed, including vote buying and multiple voting,” it added.

Vučić and his SNS, which announced after Sunday’s election that it had won 127 of the 250 seats in parliament, look set to consolidate their power even further.

But the opposition questions the transparency of the election and accuses the government of allowing thousands of unregistered voters from neighboring Bosnia to vote illegally in the capital, Belgrade.

On Monday evening, thousands of people staged a protest in front of the Serbian Election Commission building in the center of Belgrade, heeding the calls of the opposition camp.

VIDEO: “Vučić, go away”: thousands protest in Belgrade over allegations of fraud in parliamentary elections

Demonstrators held placards with the words: “They stole our future”, others chanted “Vučičius, go away”.

“It was a robbery. I’m disgusted,” 37-year-old protester Ana Mirkovič told the AFP news agency.

The government denies all these allegations. Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić said that this was aimed at spreading chaos in the country.

Germany called the alleged violations unacceptable for a country seeking membership in the European Union.

“Serbia voted, but the OSCE reported misuse of public funds, voter intimidation and cases of vote-buying,” the German Foreign Ministry said.

According to US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, Washington does not intend to comment on these allegations. But the spokesman added that the U.S. welcomes “the opportunity to continue working with the incoming government of Serbia to strengthen democratic governance and the rule of law.”