Transparency Serbia: Public Officials Step Up Election Campaign during State of Emergency

Aleksandar Vulin (Beta/Defence Ministry/Duska Stefanovic)

During a state of emergency declared in Serbia over the coronavirus pandemic, public officials were involved in political marketing more actively and noticeably than in a brief period before election activities had been officially suspended, the Transparency Serbia (TS) said in a May 11 report.

Their activities were largely focused on the country's fight against the virus, the reception and distribution of donations, but visits to construction sites had been noted as well, especially after the Easter bank holiday, said a TS associate, Zlatko Minic.

Minic said that during the election campaign, as well as the state of emergency, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic continued with his dramatic "addresses to the nation." Minic recalled that Vucic had been the formal leader of a national Covid-19 emergency team in charge of economic affairs, but that the presidential website predsednik.rs didn't offer a single report on its work, but only the president's statements on infected patients instead.

Speaking about political marketing activities carried out by public officials, Minic said that Serbian Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin was the most active one during the state of emergency. As Minic put it, personal promotion aside, the minister never missed a chance to promote Vucic as well, whom he invariably referred to as "supreme commander."

The TS associate said that his organization's research showed that highest-ranking government officials had been campaigning incessantly since 2014, just stepping it up when a new election was called.