Vucic: Elections to Take Place on Apr. 3 or Apr. 17, Says Not Sure He Will Run

Aleksandar Vucic, BSF, Bled, September 1. 2021.(BETAPHOTO/STA/Nebojsa Tejic/MO)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Sept. 5 that presidential, parliamentary and elections in Belgrade would take place on Apr. 3 or Apr. 17, and that he was not sure whether he would run for president again.

"The elections must be held according to the law, this is not a wishing well. They can take place on Apr. 3 or on Apr. 17. They cannot be held on Apr. 10, because that is the day when the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) was created, and it would be wrong to hold a Serbian election on that day, because our nation was the greatest victim," Vucic said in an interview with Prva TV.

Vucic said that he had not decided whether to run for reelection yet and that he was not ready to discuss this in public either. The president also said in the interview that Serbia's inter-party dialogue mediated by the European Parliament showed that electoral requirements were not the reason why last year's election was boycotted, but that it was an excuse for poor election results.

"The story about electoral requirements is empty, a mere excuse for poor election results. They (the opposition) wanted to portray Serbia as an autocracy," Vucic said, adding that a change of government in Serbia was only possible in the polls, and only the citizens could bring it about.