The Serbian Progressive Party, led by incumbent Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, won a landslide victory in the early parliamentary election that took place on April 24. According to a preliminary count, Vucic’s party received nearly 50 percent of the vote, Reuters reports. The second place was taken by Ivica Dacic-led Socialist Party, which is part of the ruling coalition. The Socialists received 11.6 percent of the vote. The third place went to the ultra-nationalist Serbian Radical Party, led by Vojislav Seselj, who was recently acquitted after a lengthy trial at The Hague, where he was held on charges of war crimes. According to the preliminary data, the pro-European Democratic Party of Serbia also cleared the 5 percent electoral threshold, getting about 6 percent of the vote.
It was Prime Minister Vucic who initiated the early parliamentary election in Serbia. According to him, it was necessary to ensure that the government had the Serbian people’s four-year mandate to complete the reforms required for the EU accession. The next parliamentary election is scheduled for 2018.
“This is a historic result, since we succeeded in getting more votes, both in absolute terms and as a percentage, than two years ago when we started the difficult reforms. Today’s election results show strong support for our democracy, diplomatic efforts, and European integration,” Vucic said after the results of exit polls were released. However, he added: “We must accelerate the process of joining the EU, and of course, keep our traditional ties with friends in the East.”
The fight for 250 seats in the Serbian parliament involved 20 parties and coalitions. Besides the parliamentary election, Serbia also held local government elections and elections in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, which has its own parliament and local government bodies.
