Serbian citizens vote in local elections in Belgrade and 88 other cities and municipalities

2024-06-02 13:28:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Serbian citizens vote in local elections in Belgrade and 88 other cities and

Serbian citizens are voting on June 2 in local elections in Belgrade and in 88 other cities and municipalities, including in the Preševo ??Valley.

Albanian parties in Presheva will compete with six election lists, while in Bujanoc with four.

Polling stations opened at 7:00 a.m. and will close at 8:00 p.m.

The repeat elections in Belgrade are being held simultaneously with the local elections in other cities and municipalities, following the request of the opposition, although a part of it has said it will boycott the local elections.

No party managed to form a majority for the Belgrade City Assembly after elections held in December, which were heavily criticized by international observers, who said there were "irregularities" in the local and national elections.

Those concerns echoed accusations by the opposition that President Aleksandar Vu?i?'s ruling party, the Progressive Party of Serbia (SNS), and its allies had bussed voters specifically to Belgrade from other countries.

A change in the election law in Serbia enabled the re-voting in Belgrade to be held simultaneously with local elections in Novi Sad, Nis and other cities and municipalities in the country.

However, some opposition groups have said that they will still boycott the vote, because, according to them, the conditions have not improved.

A working group composed of government and opposition representatives was formed at the end of April to address some of the recommendations of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) for improving the voting process.

ODIHR observers will observe the June 2 local elections in Serbia.

In Belgrade, voters will elect 110 members of the City Assembly for a four-year term, who will then vote on the appointment of the mayor.

The United Pro-European opposition campaigned heavily before elections in Belgrade in December, with the message that taking the capital would be the first step towards ousting Vucic and his allies, who have been in power since 2012.

Vu?i? has established diplomatic and commercial relations with Russia and China, as well as ignored calls from the European Union to impose sanctions against Russia, due to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022./REL