BELGRADE — Serbians went to the polls on Sunday in elections that will likely see
populist President
Aleksandar Vucic extend his rule in the Balkan country, as
he vows to provide stability amid the war raging in Ukraine.
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The country of
around seven million will elect the president, deputies for the 250-seat
parliament and cast votes in several municipal contests.
The latest
opinion polls see Vucic’s center-right Serbian Progressive Party maintaining
its control over the parliament, while the president is poised to win a second
term.
“Personally, I
see a stable progress and I voted in accordance with this opinion,” Milovan
Krstic, a 52-year-old government employee, told AFP after casting his vote in
Belgrade.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has cast a long shadow over a contest that observers had
earlier predicted would focus on environmental issues, corruption and rights.
Vucic has deftly
used the return of war in
Europe along with the coronavirus pandemic to his
advantage, promising voters continued stability amid uncertain headwinds.
“We expect a
huge victory. That’s what we worked for in the past four or five years,” the
president said after casting his ballot early Sunday.
Serbia’s leading
opposition candidate
Zdravko Ponos said he hoped the contest would offer a path
to institute “serious change” in the country.
“I hope for a
bright future. Elections are the right way to change the situation. I hope the
citizens of Serbia will take the chance today,” said Ponos.
Decade in power
Only a few months ago, the opposition seemed to have gained momentum.
In January,
Vucic axed a controversial lithium mine project following mass protests that
saw tens of thousands take to the streets.
The move was a
rare defeat for Vucic who has rotated through a range of positions, including
prime minister, president and deputy premier along with a stint as the defense
chief during a decade in power.
The polls
predict that he will win again on Sunday even as the opposition hopes a high
turnout could force a run-off.
Analysts,
however, say the opposition has little chance of dethroning Vucic or eating
away at his coalition in the parliament, which holds a lion’s share of the
seats.
The president
has also carefully managed the country’s response to the war in Ukraine by
officially condemning Russia at the
UN, but stopping short of sanctioning
Moscow at home, where many Serbs hold a favorable view of the Kremlin.
The opposition
in turn has largely refrained from attacking Vucic’s position on the conflict,
fearing any call for harsher measures against Russia would backfire at the
ballot box.
Vucic also
headed into elections with a plethora of other advantages.
Following a
decade at the helm, he has increasingly tightened his grip over the various
levers of power, including de facto control over much of the press and
government services.
In the months
leading up to the campaign, the president rolled out a range of financial aid
offers to select groups, prompting critics to say he was trying to “buy” votes
before the contest.
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