Politico: Serbian opposition warns Europe of ‘dictatorship’

The European Parliament called for an ad hoc independent international investigation into the “irregularities of the parliamentary, provincial and municipal elections,” the resolution states.

The measure was adopted with 461 votes in favor and 52 votes against.

“I think we have finally managed to explain that this is a decisive battle,“ said Marinika Tepic from the party Serbia Against Violence, who traveled to Strasbourg to address the MEPs prior to the voting together with other members of the Serbian opposition.

“If something doesn’t change now, we will completely slide into a dictatorship,” Tepic told Politico.

The resolution calls on the European Commission to send experts to assess the situation and expresses concerns over vote buying, media bias and voter migration.

It calls out Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who “despite not being a candidate for these elections, assumed a central role” by campaigning for the ruling party.

“They moved the population to the cities where the elections were held, they even brought people from Bosnia and Herzegovina to vote for the Serbian Progressive Party,” said Tepic.

“The EU should not overlook what kind of political monster, hooligan, they are dealing with,” Tepic urged.

“No one should be surprised when voter migration takes place in Republika Srpska, Northern Macedonia and in other places where ethnic Serbs live — don’ t think that Aleksandar Vucic will stop here,” Tepic said.

The parliament seems to recognize a serious threat and has adopted a firm resolution on Serbia, which has been a candidate for EU membership since 2012, reported Politico.

If Serbia shows unwillingness to adopt key election recommendations — or if the findings of an investigation indicate that Serbian authorities themselves were directly involved in voter fraud, the EU threatens to suspend further funding, according to the measure, said the portal.

The Serbian opposition welcomed the resolution.

“The EU has not been strict towards Serbia so far, but it is necessary that it now puts pressure on the government,” Tepic said.

“We are not a member of the EU, but we are a European country,” she said. “I understand that it is probably difficult to admit to yourself that you were financing and supporting a criminal regime, but this is the last chance to stand in the way of this autocracy,” Politico quoted Tepic as saying.

“The ruling party will diminish the importance of the resolution”

Radomir Lazovic, co-president of the Serbian Green–Left Front party, doubts that the ruling party will accept any of the EU’s demands.

“We had tens of thousands of people on the streets, there was a huge demand to repeat the election. If they wanted to accept it, they would have done so after the first indications that the elections were stolen,” he told Politico.

Ever since the election on December 17, tens of thousands opposition supporters frequently gather in the Serbian capital Belgrade to protest against the government.

Local and international observers have condemned election fraud, including the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which is set to publish a report on the parliamentary election by the end of February, OSCE spokesperson Katya Andrusz said.

“People know very well what is happening and this resolution is a significant victory for Serbia’s democracy and people“ Lazovic insisted.

“The only way out is to cancel the elections and repeat them — but under fair conditions,” he said.

Both Tepic and Lazovic expect the ruling party to diminish the importance of the resolution.

“I think that they will start a campaign, we are already being called traitors,” Lazovic said.

Serbia’s Prime Minister Ana Brnabic took to X to express her opinion on the resolution:

“Resolutions come and go — this is not the first, nor will it be the last, but it will forever be recorded that there were political parties and people in Serbia who sought the abolition of the sovereignty of their own country,” Politico quoted her post.