Analyst: Percentages Better Indicator of Regime’s Decline than Ballot Count

Djordje Vukadinovic (Youtube/Printscreen)

The recently held regular local elections in ten municipalities have shown that President Aleksandar Vucic’s regime is losing popularity, but, due to higher voter turnout, the drop in support is much more evident in percentages than in the number of votes, political analyst Djordje Vukadinovic said on April 6, and added that this shows Vucic has managed to somewhat stabilize his constituency.

“The higher voter turnout resulted in the regime winning the same or nearly the same number of votes [as the opposition], which actually indicates a decline [in support]. When one looks at the number of ballots, that decline isn’t so stark, because of higher turnout. [Vucic] hasn’t consolidated [Serbia’s] society, he hasn’t consolidated the state, and I believe he can do neither, but he can consolidate his supporters,” Vukadinovic opined in the U Centar (meaning ‘bullseye’) podcast.

The analyst added that, in the past year, all of Vucic’s public addresses have been aimed at his supporters, and that the results of the elections offer indirect confirmation that the president has somewhat managed to consolidate his constituency.

The ruling Serbian Progressive Party and its coalition partners won a majority in all ten municipalities that voted on March 29, but support for the regime showed a significant drop in as many as nine. Moreover, in certain local assemblies the Progressives have only one representative more than the opposition.