Suspicious Voter Numbers Lead to Violence and Destruction in Serbia
The Dec. 17 election revealed the existence of a major fracture in Serbian society caused by the impossibility of having more votes cast than there are voters.
Commentary
On Dec. 17, 2023, Serbia held an election for members of Parliament and local governments.
The election revealed the existence of a major fracture in Serbian society caused by the impossibility of having more votes cast than there are electors.
Following the election, Serbia endured ghastly scenes of destruction and violence.
To understand the present volatility, it is useful to recount the previous election, held in the summer of 2020.
The major opposition party, the Alliance for Serbia, refused to participate in the election of 2020 on the grounds that the conditions for free and fair elections had not been met.
Consequently, the ruling party, the Serbia Progressive Party, led by President Aleksandar Vučić won 188 seats and together with its coalition partner, the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS)—the former party of Slobodan Milošević, who was toppled in the Revolution of Oct. 5, 2000—won 220 seats out of 250 in the Serbian Parliament.
In May 2023, Serbia experienced two mass shootings, one in an elementary school and another in a village near Belgrade. People blamed the ruling government for failing to prevent these two tragic events.
…
