Serbia

Articles about voting issues in the Republic of Serbia.

Heated debate ahead of Serbia's elections | UPI.com

May 182012

Serbia’s two presidential candidates took part in a bitter televised debate just ahead of next week’s second round of elections. Incumbent Boris Tadic, who resigned his presidential mandate last month and called for new elections, accused opponent Tomislav Nikolic, of the Serbian Progressive Party, of fabricating an election fraud scandal just after the first round of elections. ”You made the electoral fraud up, and nothing you said is true,” Tadic asserted during Wednesday’s debate. “If it were true, you would have initiated court proceedings either here or you would address the court in Strasbourg, where you have been so many times.” Read More »

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Serbia No Responses » Topics: Boris Tadic, run-off election, Serbian Progressive Party, Tomislav Nikolic

Tadic Calls for Closer Monitoring in Serbian Runoff Vote | Businessweek

May 152012

Serbia’s ruling Democratic Party asked local and foreign watchdogs to step up scrutiny of the presidential runoff vote after the opposition claimed election fraud during May 6 balloting. The party, led by incumbent President Boris Tadic, urged the Vienna-based Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Belgrade-based Center for Free Elections and Democracy to deploy more observers during the May 20 second round between Tadic and Tomislav Nikolic, the leader of the opposition Serbian Progressive Party. “It is in our deep interest that we have fair and regular elections and that the legitimacy of elected institutions is not in question,” the Democrats said in the e-mailed statement. The outcome of the presidential elections may determine whether Serbia keeps striving for European Union membership under Tadic or turns east for political and economic ties under Nikolic’s leadership. Tadic won the first round, while his party finished second in a concurrent parliamentary race, giving it six seats less than the Progressive Party’s 73 in the 250-member assembly. The Progressive Party claimed vote rigging on May 10, a day after the second-place Democrats and the third-ranking Socialist Party of former strongman Slobodan Milosevic agreed to stay in a coalition, leaving Nikolic’s party in opposition. Read More »

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Serbia No Responses » Topics: Boris Tadic, Council of Europe, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Serbian Progressive Party, Tomislav Nikolic, vote rigging

Nationalists call for protests over vote | Boston.com

May 142012

Serbian nationalists on Saturday called for nationwide street protests over alleged election fraud, fueling tensions before a presidential runoff vote. Nationalist leader Tomislav Nikolic said the Serbian Progressive Party will start peaceful protests as of Sunday because “we don’t recognize’’ parliamentary and local election results held last weekend. Nikolic will face pro-European Union candidate and incumbent President Boris Tadic in a runoff presidential election on May 20. Tadic led Nikolic by half a percentage point in the first round, and is considered a favorite in the runoff. Read More »

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Serbia No Responses » Topics: Boris Tadic, European Union, Serbian Progressive Party, Tomislav Nikolic

OSCE: Serbia’s elections open and highly competitive, additional transparency needed | The Financial

May 092012

Serbia’s parliamentary and early presidential elections on 6 May 2012 took place in an open and competitive environment, but additional efforts are needed to improve the transparency of the election process and the functioning of the media, international observers said in a statement issued. Observers noted that voters were provided with a wide choice between various political options, and contestants were able to campaign freely. Most electoral stakeholders expressed a high degree of confidence in the professionalism of the election administration. According to OSCE, on election day, commissions carried out their duties professionally. Certain procedural problems were noted but no serious incidents took place. Media ownership lacks transparency and there is a need to have more balanced and analytical coverage, observers said. Read More »

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Serbia No Responses » Topics: international observers, OSCE, transparency

Progressive Party Wins Vote, Electoral Commission Says | Businessweek

May 082012

The Progressive Party of Tomislav Nikolic, who favors economic and political support from Russia, took 24 percent of the vote and the Democrats of President Boris Tadic, who won Serbia’s candidacy for European Union entry, had 22.09 percent, the Electoral Commission said, citing 97.6 percent of votes counted. The Socialist Party had 14.54 percent. The decision on who will build a new Cabinet will be made once Tadic and Nikolic face off in a May 20 presidential runoff. As governments from Ireland to Italy fall in a wave of anger over austerity, the Serb election took place as French President Nicolas Sarkozy was ousted and Greece’s vote ended in a gridlock. Serbs are split between Tadic’s bid for the EU and Nikolic’s nationalist rhetoric about the nation’s claim on Kosovo two decades after Yugoslavia broke up and his rejection of cuts needed to keep fiscal policies in line with EU demands. Read More »

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Serbia No Responses » Topics: Boris Tadic, European Union, Tomislav Nikolic

European Union and Russia Loom Over Serbian Polls | WSJ.com

May 052012

When Serbian presidential candidate Boris Tadic pulled into Veliko Gradiste, a small town on the banks of the Danube, for a late-April campaign stop, he was greeted by a cheering crowd waving the blue-and-gold flags of the European Union. Mr. Tadic, who is locked in a tight race for re-election, told the supporters surrounding him: “Our goal is the EU. That won’t change.” In many ways, Sunday’s national polls are turning into a referendum on Serbia’s future. Voters, seeking a lift in rough economic times, are being asked to choose between a strategy of ever-deeper ties with the EU or a policy of looking east and forging closer relations with Russia. Read More »

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Serbia No Responses » Topics: Boris Tadic, European Union

Pro-EU vs. nationalist camps in Serbia vote | San Jose Mercury News

May 042012
Serbia Elections

Serbia’s bid to join the European Union will be strongly tested in elections this weekend that pit ruling pro-Western democrats against nationalists who are promising jobs, economic revival and closer ties with Russia. Held in the shadows of French and Greek ballots, some seven million voters in Serbia will choose a president, a 250-seat national parliament and local councils—a triple vote held amid deep economic problems, joblessness and widespread discontent over rapidly falling living standards. Sunday’s balloting is key for Serbia’s plans to become an EU member, after being an isolated pariah state under late autocrat Slobodan Milosevic in the ’90s. It also could determine whether Serbia continues to reconcile with its neighbors, including the former province of Kosovo which declared independence in 2008.  Read More »

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Serbia Comments Off Topics: Boris Tadic, European Union, Serbian Progressive Party, Tomislav Nikolic

OSCE will only monitor elections in Kosovo | B92

May 022012

Oliver Ivanović says the agreement signed on Monday stipulates that the OSCE will only monitor Serbian presidential and parliamentary elections in Kosovo. The the Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija also underlined on Tuesday that the polls will be organized by the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK). In a statement for Tanjug, Ivanović dismissed the claims by the government in Priština that the OSCE had taken it upon itself to organize the parliamentary and presidential elections in the province on May 6. The Kosovo Albanian authorities in Priština, meanwhile, issued a statement welcoming the OSCE decision to take it on itself to ensure that all conditions are met for the Serbs in Kosovo to vote in the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections. Read More »

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Kosovo, Serbia Comments Off Topics: Oliver Ivanović, OSCE, Republic Electoral Commission

EU Welcomes Facilitation Of Voting In Kosovo In Serbian Elections | RTT

May 012012

The European Union has welcomed an agreement reached on OSCE facilitation of voting in Kosovo in the Serbian parliamentary and presidential elections. In a statement issued on Tuesday, EU Foreign Policy chief Catherine Ashton pledged full support to the OSCE for carrying out its facilitating role. She called on both Kosovo and Serbia to continue to cooperate with the OSCE in good faith so that the vote is held in a peaceful and orderly way. She also urged all sides to refrain from any action which may spark tensions. ”EULEX will monitor the security environment and will execute its mandate in close cooperation with the other international and local organizations involved,” the High Representative said. Read More »

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Kosovo, Serbia Comments Off Topics: European Union, OSCE

Election commission hears about OSCE's Kosovo requirements | B92

Apr 302012
Kosovo

The Ministry for Kosovo told the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) that the OSCE had set out a number of requirements for holding elections in Kosovo. Advisor to the minister for Kosovo and Metohija Vlada Jovičić said that the commission and the OSCE had agreed in principle on the OSCE assisting RIK in conducting the elections in the province, but the OSCE requirements that were “bordering on legality.” The OSCE recommends that for security reasons, the votes should be counted outside Kosovo and Metohija, the electoral commissions should only have a chairperson and two more members and the polls should be held at a total of 19 stations with between 70 and 100 polling booths, while in the mostly Serb-populated north, a few more polling stations should be opened. One of the OSCE requirements is that Serbia’s national symbols only be placed inside the polling stations. Read More »

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Kosovo, Serbia Comments Off Topics: Metohija Vlada Jovičić, OSCE, Republic Electoral Commission

Cliffhangers - The outcomes of Serbia’s many elections on May 6th are unpredictable | The Economist

Apr 272012

On May 6th the French vote for a president and the Greeks and Armenians for parliaments. For Serbs it is the big bang: they will vote for a president, a parliament, in local elections and, in the province of Vojvodina, for a regional assembly. In Kosovo too, many Serbs may vote, but this is contentious and could lead to violence. Kosovo aside, the Serbian elections are a cliffhanger. Polls give President Boris Tadic of the Democratic Party (DS) just under 36% and Tomislav Nikolic, leader of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), just over 36%. A run-off between the two a fortnight later is likely, and the result will be influenced by the parliamentary election. Mr Tadic sells himself as pro-European and pro-reform. But he looks tired and the economy is in dire straits. One poll finds 80% of Serbs are dissatisfied and angry, 77% feel helpless and hopeless and 60% are just depressed. The latest score for the SNS and its allies is 33.5%, with the DS and its allies trailing on 28.3%. Yet it may be easier for the DS than for the SNS to find other coalition partners. Read More »

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Serbia Comments Off Topics: Ivica Dacic, Serbian Progressive Party, Tomislav Nikolic

Giuliani Wades Into World of Messy Balkan Politics | WSJ.com

Apr 212012

Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani was dragged into the swirling waters of Balkan politics on Friday after participating in public events with two opposition-party candidates in hotly contested election fights in Serbia. A senior politician from the Serbian Progressive Party, Aleksandar Vucic, who is running for mayor of Belgrade, said he invited Mr. Giuliani to advise him on how to revitalize the Serbian capital on the Danube River and pull it from an economic slump. Mr. Giuliani, who ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and now works as a consultant, also met with Tomislav Nikolic, the party’s candidate for president, in what is expected to be a close race against the pro-Western incumbent, Boris Tadic, of the Democrat Party. Messrs. Vucic and Nikolic used to be prominent members of a staunchly nationalistic party that opposed European Union membership and condemned U.S. involvement in the Balkans. They left in 2008 and launched the Progressive Party, which says it supports Serbia’s eventual membership in the EU.  Read More »

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Serbia Comments Off Topics: Boris Tadic, Rudy Guiliani, Serbian Progressive Party, Tomislav Nikolic

Serbs divided over Kosovo local elections | New Europe

Apr 202012
Serbia

Serbian authorities will not organise local elections in Kosovo according to the Serbian minister for Kosovo Goran Bogdanović. He explained that Belgrade received a negative answer from the UN administration in Pristina – UNMIK – which is administrating Kosovo in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 1244. “We do not intend to break UNSC Resolution 1244 in any way and endanger Serbs living south from the Ibar river,” Bogdanović stressed, reminding that according to the Resolution, UNMIK is in charge of organising local elections in Kosovo. He added that this situation does not imply closure of Serbian institutions in Kosovo, pointing out that elections were not held in 1999 or 2008. Bogdanović rejected announcements of two Serbian municipalities in northern Kosovo who stated they will hold local elections regardless of the UNMIK stance. He reiterated that no one has the right to break the UNSC Resolution 1244. Read More »

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Kosovo, Serbia Comments Off Topics: Goran Bogdanović

Kosovo police “determined to prevent Serbian poll” | B92

Apr 192012

Kosovo’s Interior Minister Bajram Rexhepi said on Wednesday the police were still determined to prevent Serbia from holding local elections in Kosovo. “The police will work with EULEX and KFOR and do everything to prevent the poll,” he told Radio Kontakt Plus. Rexhepi does not expect heavy rioting once the police intervenes. “The police will focus on confiscating election material and prevention, and those actions are regulated by law,” he stated, adding that the authorities wished no tension, but also that those organizing the elections should be sensible. He did not specify when the operation would occur, explaining that it was part of the plan and that he could not discuss it. Read More »

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Kosovo, Serbia Comments Off Topics: Bajram Rexhepi, election violence, Goran Bogdanović

Presidential election set for May following Boris Tadic’s resignation | The Washington Post

Apr 062012
Serbia

Serbia will elect a new president May 6, and the campaign is expected to focus on two key issues: the Balkan country’s flagging economy and its bid to join the European Union. The two leading candidates are Boris Tadic, who formally resigned as president on Thursday to make way for an early election, and Tomislav Nikolic, whose nationalist Serbian Progressive Party has Russia’s support. In March, Tadic persuaded the EU to allow Serbia to officially apply for membership, following the long-awaited arrest of the Bosnian Serb leader Ratko Mladic. He was turned over to a U.N. tribunal in The Hague to face genocide charges. Tadic also has overseen a more conciliatory stance toward Kosovo, a former province that declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Many countries, including the United States, have recognized Kosovo’s independence, but not Serbia or Russia.  Read More »

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Serbia Comments Off Topics: Boris Tadic, presidential election, Serbian Progressive Party, Tomislav Nikolic

President Boris Tadic resigns setting up early elections | seattlepi.com

Apr 052012
Tadic

Serbian pro-Western President Boris Tadic said Wednesday he is resigning, paving the way for an early presidential election where he will face a strong challenge from a nationalist candidate. Serbia’s parliament speaker is expected to call the vote for May 6, the same day when parliamentary and local elections are already scheduled. In the presidential vote, Tadic will be challenged by nationalist candidate Tomislav Nikolic who has received tacit support from Russia. Several other candidates are also expected to run, but without real chances of winning. Read More »

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Serbia Comments Off Topics: Boris Tadic, presidential election, Tomislav Nikolic

Parliamentary Elections Set for May | Moscow Times

Mar 142012

Serbia’s president on Tuesday called for parliamentary elections for May 6. The government that emerges is expected to take Serbia into talks on joining the EU, which would be a setback for Russia, a longtime Serbian ally. After years of bitter rivalry, Serbia’s two main parties may join forces to push through the reforms needed to eventually join the European Union. But past events suggest that horse-trading over a new coalition government will take months. Read More »

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Serbia Comments Off Topics: Boris Tadic, Serbian Progressive Party, Serbian Radical Party, Tomislav Nikolic

No elections this year, says Serbian parliament speaker | B92 News

Jul 142011

Serbian Parliament Speaker Slavica Đukić-Dejanović says there will be “no elections in Serbia this year”. The speaker, a high ranking official of Ivica Dačić’s Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), note that sge had received no initiative for early local elections.

Slavica Đukić-Dejanović told reporters at the parliament building today that the political elite would agree on whether to hold parliamentary and local election at the same time or separately. Read More »

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Serbia Comments Off Topics: local election, Slavica Đukić-Dejanović, Socialist Party of Serbia

Serbian Human and Minority Rights Calls for Bosniak Council elections by year’s end | B92 News

Jun 252011
Milan Marković

Serbian Human and Minority Rights Minister Milan Marković has said that elections for the Bosniak National Council will need to be held by the end of the year.

“This is a national interest and a need of the Bosniak community and it would be best if this issue was tackled before winter,” Marković told Belgrade-based daily Politika and added that it was in Serbia’s interest for everyone to take part in the elections and this was the reason why talks with all lists’ representatives were underway. Read More »

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Serbia Comments Off Topics: Milan Marković, Muamer Zukorlić

Dacic: Serbian elections will probably be held in March next year | EMG

Jun 222011

President of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) Ivica Dacic said Saturday that he expects new elections in Serbia to be held in March the following year. He expects the SPS to do well at the elections, and possibly better than others.

At a meeting of the SPS Belgrade about new elections, held in the Serbian capital on Saturday, Dacic said the SPS would certainly not run in the elections to come third. He added that the latest attacks on the SPS in which the party had once again been associated with the family Slobodan Milosevic would not reduce the party’s rating.

Read More »

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Serbia Comments Off Topics: Ivica Dacic, Socialist Party of Serbia
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