Protest in Belgrade, part of the opposition demands the cancellation of the elections in the Serbian capital

2023-12-18 20:28:54, Kosova & Bota CNA

Protest in Belgrade, part of the opposition demands the cancellation of the

Demonstrators in front of the headquarters of the Republican Electoral Commission in Belgrade, Serbia, December 18, 2023.

A large number of citizens protested on Monday in the center of Belgrade, demanding the cancellation of the local elections held in the Serbian capital on December 17.

The opposition coalition "Serbia against violence" called this protest, as it claims that the victory of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) in power in Belgrade "is the result of election theft".

"We do not want and do not dare to recognize the elections in Belgrade, because they are against the law, people from other countries have been misused", said the representative of the "Serbia against violence" coalition, Marinika Tepiq, during the protest in front of the Commission headquarters. Electoral Republican (KRZ).

She stated that her coalition has "tens of thousands of evidence" for the rewriting of the electoral will of the citizens.

"We have evidence and we demand the annulment of the elections in Belgrade", Tepiq said before some of the representatives of the opposition coalition entered the KRZ headquarters to submit a request for the annulment of the elections.

Marinika Tepiq announced that she, together with another leader of the "Serbia against violence" list Miroslav Aleksic, will go on a hunger strike until, as she said, the cancellation of the elections.

Demonstrators in front of the entrance of the KRZ whistled and chanted: "We will not give victory", "Treason", "Hajna", and threw eggs, tomatoes and toilet paper in the direction of the commission building.

An incident happened briefly when a small group of protesters tried to break a protective fence that was placed in front of the commission's headquarters.

The leaders of the opposition prevented the development of any major incident, calling on the crowd to "not fall into provocations" and to remain calm.

The coalition parties "Serbia against violence" claims that in the local elections in Belgrade on December 17, the SNS violated the electoral will of the citizens.

"Given that more than 40,000 people without legal residence were brought to Belgrade in an organized manner to support the SNS list, which drastically changed the electoral will of the citizens of Belgrade, we demand the annulment of the elections in the city of Belgrade and the repetition of voting for the Municipal Assembly", said the coalition.

From this coalition, they also demanded "cleaning of the electoral list".

Earlier, SNS rejected the accusations that it influenced the will of the citizens during the December 17 elections.

The president of SNS, Milosh Vu?evi?, declared that he is "sure" that his list won in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, and that he believes that Aleksandar Shapiq will be the "new or old mayor" of the city.

According to the preliminary results of the City Electoral Commission, the SNS list won 39.3 percent of the votes (49 mandates) in the Belgrade elections, while the list "Serbia against violence" 34.3 percent (42 mandates).

Serbia held extraordinary parliamentary, local and provincial elections on Sunday.

SNS has declared victory at all levels./ REL