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The new parliament of Serbia is inaugurated amid tensions due to irregularities in the elections

2024-02-06 20:50:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The new parliament of Serbia is inaugurated amid tensions due to irregularities

Serbia's parliament convened on Tuesday for its first session after last year's disputed election and opposition accusations of electoral fraud.

During the session, opposition lawmakers refused to take the oath, protesting by blowing whistles, waving placards and exchanging insults with those of the ruling coalition.

Lawmakers from the opposition alliance Serbia Against Violence reiterated their call for the results to be annulled and new elections to be held.

"We are ready. And we will do everything in our power to achieve justice together with the Serbian citizens. We will do everything to have these election results annulled. We will do everything to normalize the situation in Serbia and that the thieves end up in prison" said one of the leaders of the opposition, Miroslav Aleksic.

"The most brutal election theft happened in Serbia and that is why the opposition is protesting and this is happening. We demand that these elections be canceled and held again under fair and honest conditions," said opposition lawmaker Radomir Lazovic.

On December 17, President Aleksandar Vu?i?'s ruling Serbian Progressive Party secured nearly 47 percent of the vote, while the opposition Serbia Against Violence alliance took about 26 percent of the vote.

Opposition parties have accused President Vucic's government of orchestrating fraud in the December 17 parliamentary and local elections, particularly in Belgrade, the Serbian capital.

The State Election Commission has announced the Serbian Progressive Party of Vucic as the winner of the elections and rejected the complaints of the opposition. The Constitutional Court has not yet decided on the appeals.

International observers said the ruling party had gained an unfair advantage through media bias, undue influence by Vucic and voting irregularities such as vote buying.

Since the election, the opposition alliance Serbia, along with other opposition parties and civil society groups, have organized protests demanding a repeat vote.

Serbia's opposition and rights watchdogs accuse the Serbian president and his ruling Serbian Progressive party of stifling media freedoms, violence against opponents, corruption and ties to organized crime. Vucic and his allies deny these accusations.

Although President Vu?i? says he wants to lead Serbia towards membership in the European Union, critics accuse the populist leader of imposing an autocracy by taking control of the mainstream media and all state institutions./ VOA