12/29/2023 3:49 pm (current 12/29/2023 3:49 pm)
Students paralyze traffic arteries in Belgader ©APA/AFP
Dozens of Serbian students blocked a key intersection in Belgrade on Friday in protest against alleged electoral fraud. Protesters set up tents at the government district intersection and announced a 24-hour blockade. A protest march is planned in the Serbian capital on Saturday. Protesters demand the annulment of the official election results and new elections.
According to official information, President Aleksandar Vučić's ruling right-wing party clearly won the December 17 parliamentary and local elections. However, international election observers reported numerous irregularities during the vote.
According to the opposition, tens of thousands of residents of the neighboring Bosnian Serb republic, Republika Srpska, were transported in buses to vote illegally in Belgrade. Based on the analysis of electoral rolls, the Belgrade-based NGO Istinomer (“Truth Meter”) concluded that a disproportionate number of voters were registered at individual addresses, around 40 voters in a house with 58 square meters of living space.
Last weekend, protesters threw stones at Belgrade City Hall and attempted to storm the building. More than 30 protesters were arrested.