Serbian magazine Radar has warned that, despite its electoral defeat, the outgoing political establishment remains capable of exerting pressure, obstructing investigations and potentially destroying evidence before a new parliament and government take office.
In a preview of its upcoming issue published on October 28, Radar argues that individuals allegedly involved in unlawful surveillance, the obstruction of investigations and media activities supporting the outgoing government may eventually face legal consequences. However, the publication warns that institutions it describes as loyal to the current regime could continue operating in ways that undermine accountability during the transition.
The magazine says prosecutors, courts, security services, ministries and media organizations could have time to destroy evidence or continue what it describes as repression, including arrests, surveillance and provocations, before and after the new parliament and government are established.
Oliver Tošković: Citizens organized to defend the election result
In another article, Radar examines the potential cost of Serbia’s political transition and the challenges of restoring democratic institutions following Aleksandar Vučić’s electoral defeat.
The magazine highlights the removal of an encampment from Pionirski Park in Belgrade as a symbolic starting point for what it describes as the normalization of Serbia. The site had become associated with supporters of the outgoing authorities and, according to critics, with questionable political and criminal connections.
Radar argues that rebuilding the country’s institutions will require sustained civic engagement and public oversight to avoid repeating the failures associated with Serbia’s political transition after October 2000.
The publication also interviewed Oliver Tošković, a psychology professor at the University of Belgrade’s Faculty of Philosophy and a parliamentary candidate on the student-backed Students’ List, about the prospects for political recovery.
A year earlier, Tošković had described Serbian society as “broken and disorganized.” He now argues that the student movement’s ability to organize itself has been crucial to its electoral success.
“What we actually did not know was what Vučić would do after the polling stations closed, but we did not expect him to admit defeat so quickly,” Tošković told Radar.
He said Vučić had acknowledged the result after realizing that the margin was too large to conceal through manipulation. Tošković also credited election observers and volunteers with preventing alleged irregularities, citing around 30 instances of what he called “Bulgarian trains” being stopped in New Belgrade. The term refers to a form of alleged electoral fraud involving organized groups of voters casting ballots at multiple polling stations.
Tošković criticized the fact that volunteers and citizens had to take on responsibilities he said should have been fulfilled by the police, prosecutors and the Republic Electoral Commission.
“Since they were unwilling to do that, we organized ourselves and defended the result,” he said.
Political establishment faces a major reshuffle
According to Radar, the election result could also mark the end of an era for political parties and leaders who have dominated Serbia’s political life, both in government and opposition, over the past three decades.
The magazine suggests that the shape of Serbia’s future political landscape will depend largely on the performance of the new parliamentary majority, rather than on parties that received less than 1% of the vote.
The transition, it argues, will require more than replacing political leaders. It will also involve reforming institutions and establishing mechanisms to ensure accountability and prevent abuses of power.
Questions over an investigation into Palata Albanija
In another section of the upcoming issue, Radar reports that the Ministry of Internal Affairs has allegedly failed to act on a request from the Organized Crime Prosecutor’s Office to investigate the purchase of part of the Palata Albanija building in central Belgrade.
According to the magazine, the prosecutor’s office asked police in May to gather information about how Vladan Miketić acquired the commercial property.
Radar reports that Alta Banka subsequently placed a mortgage on the property in August and granted a loan to Miketić’s company worth 138 times its total revenue over four years. The publication also notes that Miketić had been accused of attempted murder.
The allegations and financial details have not been independently established in the material provided, and the reported circumstances do not by themselves establish wrongdoing by the parties involved.
New dossier revisits the Novi Sad railway disaster
The next issue of Radar will also include a dossier titled Canopy File: From Envelope to Grave, examining the collapse of the canopy at Novi Sad railway station on November 1, 2024.
The disaster killed 16 people and left one person seriously injured, according to the article.
The dossier was written by university professors Ognjen Radonjić and Vladimir Obradović, members of the inquiry commission established to examine responsibility for the collapse.
The authors argue that political responsibility should be examined at the highest levels of government, naming President Aleksandar Vučić, former prime ministers Ana Brnabić and Miloš Vučević, and former ministers Zorana Mihajlović, Goran Vesić and Tomislav Momirović.
Their conclusions form part of the continuing public debate over accountability for the disaster, which triggered prolonged student protests and became a major issue in Serbia’s political crisis.
