BELGRADE -- Members of the opposition in the Serbian National Assembly on February 6 walked out of the assembly’s opening session after refusing to be sworn in together with the majority Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), which they accuse of stealing the election.
Members of the Serbia Against Violence coalition blew whistles and waved banners reading "Election fraud" and "You stole the elections" before walking out and taking the oath in the lobby outside the assembly's main chamber, saying they did not want to be sworn in with politicians who gained their mandates by "stealing elections."
The coalition has disputed national and municipal elections held in Serbia on December 17 and demanded they be annulled, claiming in a series of street protests and hunger strikes that the ruling party committed electoral fraud. The SNS denied the claims, and the Election Commission on January 12 rejected all opposition objections when it announced the final results, which gave President Aleksandar Vucic's SNS 47 percent of the vote, while the Serbia Against Violence coalition garnered almost 24 percent.
The opening session of the new National Assembly on February 6 lasted only about 30 minutes, allowing only enough time to confirm mandates and administer the oath. The SNS members displayed a large banner denouncing the opposition.
The session took place two days before a discussion and vote in the European Parliament on the elections in Serbia, further angering the Serbia Against Violence coalition, which had demanded the opening session be held after the February 8 vote and discussion in the European Parliament.
Domestic and international monitoring organizations, including the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), indicated that there were electoral irregularities in the elections on December 17. The SNS and the state leadership denied those allegations.
The OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights announced on December 18 that the elections in Serbia were marked by irregularities, including the misuse of public funds, media dominance by Vucic, and negative campaigning. Vucic and his allies deny these allegations.