Serbia: anti-government protestors try to storm Belgrade city hall

• Protests in Belgrade, Serbia, have escalated over allegations of electoral fraud by the ruling party.
• Police used tear gas to disperse the crowd outside city hall.
• Protesters claim the ruling party engaged in electoral fraud.

Protests erupted in Belgrade, Serbia’s capital, as demonstrators accused the government of manipulating the results of the recent general election.

The police used tear gas to disperse the crowd outside city hall after some protesters smashed windows and entered forcefully.

Opposition activists claim that the ruling party, led by President Aleksandar Vucic, engaged in electoral fraud. President Vucic dismisses these allegations as baseless.

During the Sunday demonstration, there were accusations of excessive force by the police. Radomir Lazovic, co-leader of the Green-Left Front, reported being beaten by officers along with several others, using truncheons.

The clashes resulted in over 30 arrests. The incident caused eight police officers injured, according to Ivica Ivkovic, the head of the Interior Ministry’s Police Department.

“Those arrested are suspected of attempting to violently change the constitutional order, and of violent behavior at a public meeting according to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Serbia,” said Mr Ivkovic, adding that the number of arrests was likely to rise.

Since the national and local elections last week, peaceful protests have been a nightly occurrence. However, this changed on Sunday when supporters of the Serbia against Violence opposition coalition attempted to forcibly enter the city hall.

Opposition leaders:

During the incident, two opposition leaders, Srdjan Milivojevic and Vladimir Obradovic, were seen trying to open the door of the building. In response, the police used pepper spray to disperse the protesters.

Opposition leaders have raised suspicions that individuals inciting violence, known as agent’s provocateurs, were involved in smashing windows, leading to the subsequent police intervention.

Sofija Mandic, a lawyer, told those assembled that Mr. Vucic should “hand over power peacefully”. The government was “usurping” power, she added.

What protesters are saying?:

The protesters say the government bused in thousands of people to swing the vote in Belgrade’s city elections. They want the poll to be re-run.

The vote saw Mr Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party returned to power with a majority in parliament.

Both local and global observers have noted “irregularities” in the recent elections, with allegations including ballot box stuffing and vote buying.

“Those who swore to fight against violence just confirmed once again that they are the real thugs,” Mr Vucic said.

The opposition aimed to prevent the ruling party from securing a majority and sought to gain control of Belgrade. However, the official results, quickly dismissed as fraudulent by opposition members, revealed that the opposition fell short of both objectives.

In reaction to the results, the opposition has initiated daily protests, and seven key figures within the opposition have embarked on a hunger strike as a form of protest.

“Vucic stole thousands of votes,” Marinika Tepic, one of the hunger strikers, said at Sunday’s protest.

The electoral commission declared that a rerun of the election would take place in approximately 30 polling stations out of a total of 8,000 across the country.

Germany expressed strong disapproval, stating that accusations of electoral misconduct were deemed “unacceptable” for a country aspiring to become a member of the European Union.

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