Extraordinary Parliamentary Elections Held in Serbia

Extraordinary Parliamentary Elections in Serbia, Dec. 17 2023 (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV)

An early parliamentary election took place in Serbia on Dec. 17 to choose a new 250-seat parliament.

At the same time, citizens voted in a provincial election in Vojvodina and local elections in 65 cities and municipalities, including the capital Belgrade. The National Electoral Commission announced earlier that the total number of voters in Serbia eligible to vote in the parliamentary election was 6,500,165, while there are 1,613,190 voters in Belgrade. A total of 18 tickets competed for seats in the parliament.

Serbian citizens residing abroad were able to vote at 81 polling stations in 35 countries. In the U.S., Canada, Portugal and the United Kingdom, ballots were cast a day earlier on Dec. 16, due to time zone differences.

After polling stations closed at 8 p.m., reports of irregularities emerged accompanied by mutual accusations. Opposition ticket representatives allege there was an organized transport of Republika Srpska citizens to Belgrade to vote, who were supposedly bussed to Belgrade's Stark Arena and from there to various polling stations to vote. Serbian Electoral Commission representatives and Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said these were Serbian citizens registered in Serbian voting rosters.

Non-governmental organizations and observers reported many other irregularities, including parallel lists and possible vote buying.