A European Union election observer has condemned alleged irregularities in Serbian elections this weekend and called for a probe as the opposition accused the ruling populist party of committing voter fraud to secure its victory.
“We witnessed cases of organized bringing of voters from Republika Srpska and voters’ intimidation,” said Viola von Cramon, a member of the observation mission of the European Parliament for the snap parliamentary and local elections that Serbia held on December 17.
“We absolutely expected higher democratic standards from an EU candidate country, which negotiates EU membership,” von Cramon said on a social media post on December 19.
She called for an “international oversight and full investigation” into the allegations of irregularities in the Serbian vote both by international observers and the Serbian opposition.
EU commissioners Josep Borrell and Oliver Varhely urged Serbia to significantly improve its electoral process.
"We conclude with concern that the electoral process requires tangible improvement and further reform, as the proper functioning of Serbia's democratic institutions is at the core of Serbia's EU accession process," they said in a joint statement on December 19.
Early results showed that President Aleksandar Vucic's Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) had won in both ballots. But the opposition Serbia Against Violence alliance claimed that they were robbed of a win in the capital, Belgrade.
The alliance claims that some 40,000 people were bused in from neighboring Bosnia to vote in Belgrade and tilt the outcome in favor of the ruling party.
Opposition leaders said they will not recognize the result in Belgrade, and demanded that the vote be annulled and held again.
Washington has urged Serbia to work with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) observer mission to address "unjust conditions" surrounding the electoral process, a U.S. State Department spokesperson was quoted by Reuters as saying.
The International Election Observation Mission, which included representatives from the OSCE, reported irregularities, saying on December 18 that the election day was marred by “isolated instances of violence, procedural irregularities, and frequent allegations of organizing and busing of voters to support the ruling party in local elections."
The German Foreign Ministry noted other irregularities reported by the OSCE, including abuse of public funds, intimidation of voters, and cases of vote-buying," and said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, that the activities are “unacceptable for a country with EU candidate status.”
Serbia became a candidate for EU membership under Vucic, but the opposition accuses the EU of turning a blind eye to democratic shortcomings in return for stability in the Balkan region.
The ruling party dismissed the criticism of the elections, saying they were free and fair.
That was not enough to calm tensions as demonstrators gathered again in front of the state election commission headquarters in Belgrade to demand the annulment of the election results in the capital. They threw papers printed to look like ballots with the word forgery written across them and pelted the building with eggs.
Your browser doesn’t support HTML5
Serbian Opposition Coalition Protests Election Results In Belgrade
Skirmishes erupted the day before when several thousand people rallied in front of the headquarters to protest alleged fraud.
Marinika Tepic and Miroslav Aleksic, two leaders of the Serbia Against Violence alliance have announced a hunger strike in protest at what they say was electoral fraud.
Vucic, in power since 2012, has dismissed criticism by opponents that his government has curbed democratic freedoms and failed to combat rampant corruption and organized crime.