Ahead of Regular Parliamentary, Local Polls

Opposition leaders (Beta/Milan Obradovic)

Serbia’s regular parliamentary and local elections will take place on April 26 amidst rising political tensions. Attempts to reach a mutually acceptable government-opposition agreement on the requirements of a fair vote before the elections have all failed, and part of the opposition has decided to boycott them. The Serbian government is refusing to open the mainstream media to opposition parties and other opponents. The only relevant change to the election process is that the existing five-percent electoral threshold is reduced to three percent, which the opposition has never asked for.