Another one passed. local elections. This time, voting was held in ten local self-governments in which about four percent of the electorate has the right to vote. In accordance with the established practice, this time also the regime Aleksandar Vučić made a false battle for the survival of Serbia and Serbia out of elections for people whom the citizens consider the most suitable for solving communal problems. And this time, the entire state and party machinery was harnessed: ministers and paramilitary SNS formations, construction machines, official limousines and jeeps, bribery and intimidation were used, regime media thundered and spread lies and slander for weeks before the polling stations opened.
Everything seen before, but not on this scale. The cramp of the ruling group was palpable, as if it was about their heads, as if the question of victory in all ten local self-governments was for them a question of being or not being.
They brought themselves into such an abnormal situation by building a system based on the myth of Aleksandar Vučić's invincibility for 14 years, and now there is a fear at the top of the government that after the first defeat, even in the smallest village, the entire structure could crumble like a tower of deception and all their privileges would evaporate like dirty water on a hot stove.
This is precisely why, in violation of hundreds of laws, the regime has simply refused to call elections for local communities in Novi Sad for over a year now.
The mapping of local to parliamentary elections
One of the conclusions of these local elections is that the parliamentary elections have become an even bigger nightmare for Aleksandar Vučić, because their outcome is not a reflection of the free will of the voters, but the application of enormous force, the spending of enormous financial resources and the engagement of a limited number of loyalists ready for physical confrontations with opponents of the government and creating chaos.
The methodology of preserving power seen in To Aranđelovac, Bajina Bašta, Bor, Kladovo, Knjaževac, Sphere, Lučani, Majdanpek, Sevojno and Smederevska Palanka, it is impossible, however, to apply it in the parliamentary elections where voting is held simultaneously in 174 local self-government units - in 145 municipalities, 28 cities and Gwork in Belgrade which has the status of a special territorial unit.
That is why Aleksandar Vučić does not announce them.
And because in the bigger cities, the SNS with all the people in Prilep has had to reckon with a convincing defeat for a long time, and in Belgrade and Novi Sad alone, about two million voters were registered.
Photo: Tanjug / Amir HamzagićConflict in Kula
Turnout and absence of fear
Great turnout in the past local elections, it shows that a large number of abstainers who are not inclined to the ruling parties have been awakened. On the other hand, there has been a steady trend of declining popularity of the Serbian Progressive Party for a year, which can offer absolutely nothing new.
In all these local areas, a large number of young people stood out, who are not intimidated, who will not back down in front of strategically deployed detachments of progressive black hoods. The same applies to the record number of observers and controllers of the voting process.
"SNS fell by ten percent": Was Vučić even more afraid of the parliamentary elections after the local ones
The abnormal attempt to turn polling stations into war zones did not bear the desired fruit, on the contrary: one gets the impression that the motive of the supporters of the rule of law, who are in favor of going to the elections in the future without fear of getting a barbell in the head, is even greater.
It is completely abnormal to Serbia election controllers declare the extent to which they are willing to risk their own heads and supply pepper spray to defend themselves against government-paid thugs in case of emergency.
It is insane that the gendarmerie and the police brigade are engaged in every local election, that the government sends loyalists like Mark Kricka, currently the head of the Criminal Police Directorate, to intervene in the event that the record number of centenarians' votes, for example, does not bring SNS the upper hand.
One presidential candidate and consolidation of election lists
Vučić can postpone the parliamentary elections until the end of 2027, but the presidential elections are knocking on his door. The outcome of both the autocratic government, which has passed its zenith, is no longer in its hands. It can only try to evolve into an open dictatorship and start to, following the example of Putin, Lukashenka and Erdoğan, puts more prominent political rivals in jail.
The outcome of both the presidential and parliamentary elections, even under these election conditions, depends only on the ability of the Student Movement and the opposition parties to agree on a common presidential candidate and consolidation of electoral lists. The only question is whether some people's sense of responsibility for the future of this country is stronger than others' will to remain in power at any cost.
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