The ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) has taken electoral misconduct to unprecedented levels, according to sources cited by Vreme. The latest incidents occurred during local elections in Mionica, Negotin, and Sečanj, reflecting a combination of organized violence and declining SNS popularity.
Photographer Zorica Popović, reporting from Mionica, described a disturbing development: the police actively colluded with violent groups, rather than protecting citizens.
“For the first time in a year, I saw police calming situations by pointing firearms at people in a café,” Popović said. “The sense of powerlessness and anger was overwhelming—not because of the fights, sadly unsurprising, but because of the police behavior and total abandonment of citizens.”
The incidents included fistfights, assaults on opposition figures, and attacks on the monitoring mission from CRTA, all while police largely stood by without intervention.
Predrag Voštinić from Lokalni Front emphasized the high degree of organization behind the violence:
“Operational groups of masked individuals always worked in teams of five to ten and were clearly executing orders rather than acting independently.”
Despite these actions, the SNS still secured majorities in all three municipalities, though their vote percentages plummeted sharply, signaling a loss of popular support.
Political analyst Viktor Stamenković noted:
“For the first time, elections have ceased to be a mere demonstration of force for SNS and have become uncertain. This points to a logical conclusion: the Serbian Progressive Party is unlikely to call parliamentary elections in the near future.”
This pattern highlights not only growing authoritarian practices within the SNS but also the institutional failure of law enforcement to uphold democratic norms.
