Serbia

The Serbian political environment has been fraught with tension in recent months, as opposition activists demand a free press and fair elections in the Eastern European nation. Demonstrations have been held on a weekly basis outside President Aleksandar Vucic’s residence in Belgrade. Since winning the 2017 Serbian election by a commanding margin, Vucic is accused of eroding freedoms in Serbia. Critics accuse him of weaponizing the state apparatus against his political opponents. The courts, state-run media, and police have all been blamed of bias against the opposition. Protesters have also demanded the resignation of President Vucic, who has resisted these calls. Vucic accuses the people speaking against him of being “fascists, hooligans, and thieves.” Vucic has also expressed confidence in the ability of his Serbian Progressive Party to retain power in Serbia if he called a snap election. However, he has not yet to follow through and test that belief. Vucic claimed that he would not accept the protestors demands even if there were “five million” people in the streets. Demonstrators have used this to rally, adopting the slogan “one out of five million” while sharing content on social media sites. Serbia’s electoral future is uncertain, as opposition leaders have called for a boycott of the upcoming parliamentary elections until every current member of parliament resigned. However, with Vucic maintaining a desire to stay in office, a mass resignation of this nature appears unlikely.

Serbia has also seen anti-government demonstrations in relation to the country’s strict COVID-19 lockdown. Despite having a relatively low coronavirus rate, Serbia has enacted some of Europe’s strictest lockdown regulations. Protestors accuse the Vucic government of using the pandemic to centralize and consolidate power, undermining Serbian democracy. Protests in Serbia are part of the “Ne davimo Beograd” movement, which accuses political leaders of corruption and incompetence. The protests have been endorsed by Serbian opposition parties, but the protestors are not electorally motivated and belong to all walks of life in Serbia.

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