Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) president Miloš Vučević once again revealed the deeply troubling mechanisms behind the party’s electoral machinery, openly admitting that SNS “has its own lists of members and certain votes,” as well as election headquarters in every municipality. Far from being a “normal part of the political process,” as Vučević insists, such statements reinforce long-standing accusations that the ruling party tightly controls voters through pressure networks and orchestrated mobilization.
Speaking from the SNS headquarters after Sunday’s local elections, Vučević appeared irritated that citizens and opposition groups are “trying to find out” the locations of these election bases—suggesting they operate more like covert command centers than transparent political offices. His dismissive claim that “there is nothing secret” only deepens suspicion, as these same structures are widely accused of coordinating influence, coercion, and direct interference in voting processes.
Instead of addressing these concerns, Vučević shifted blame to the so-called “blockaders,” accusing them of “intimidating people” and “preventing citizens from voting.” Yet no independent reports confirm Vučević’s claims. On the contrary, civil society observers have repeatedly documented aggressive behavior from SNS activists, not opposition groups, during electoral processes.
Despite what he labeled “pressures and incidents,” Vučević boasted that SNS again secured the highest support in Mionica, Negotin, and Sečanj—municipalities long criticized for being strongholds of political clientelism and dependency on state-controlled resources. He praised results where the SNS list allegedly surpassed two-thirds of the vote, presenting it as a democratic triumph rather than a symptom of an entrenched, uncompetitive political environment.
As usual, SNS leadership praises itself while ignoring the systemic abuses that define Serbia’s electoral landscape: pressure on public-sector employees, misuse of state resources, opaque party structures, and an environment where “lists of certain votes” are treated as standard political practice.
Vučević may call this democracy. Many others call it a controlled system built on fear, loyalty enforcement, and deliberate erosion of electoral integrity.
