Political scientist Aleksandar Ivković has accused President Aleksandar Vučić of orchestrating a systematic manipulation of public opinion polls to inflate his support and marginalize opposition forces, especially the Student List.
The latest Ipsos survey claims Vučić’s list would win 49.1% of the vote in upcoming elections, while the Student List is shown at just 9.1%. Ivković points out that Ipsos does not actively include the Student List in the survey, counting only spontaneous mentions—a tactic Vučić himself acknowledged in September. “This repeated suppression of the Student List, presented by the media as objective polling, is a clear example of large-scale manipulation,” Ivković said on X.
The survey also shows that only a few opposition parties—the Democratic Party, Kreni-Permeni, New DSS, and Branimir Nestorović’s We the People’s Power—would pass the threshold, highlighting how poll manipulation strengthens Vučić’s grip on power. Ivković warns that these tactics, combined with media complicity, threaten the integrity of democracy in Serbia.
