Vučić's first mention that elections could be held this year was after local assemblies in ten municipalities, when it is the government received significantly fewer votes than before, and the partner parties of the SNS failed ingloriously in particular. He then said that the elections could be held on Vidovdan, June 28.
MP of the National Movement of Serbia Đorđe Stanković believes that Vučić will hold them right then. He told N1 that "it is probably the term when Vučić wants to call elections so that potential voters of the opposition will be on vacation."
"I have the same impression according to the information from the field, which includes, among other things, their meetings, the campaign they are embarking on. Here, in Nis, they have already organized tents in the villages, they are fully involved in the campaign and we have to do the same," said Stanković.
He hopes that in that case the majority will still be in Serbia, that the turnout will be a record and that in a similar scenario as in Hungary, the progressive government will be replaced.
Stanković also said that the strongest opposition players are the students and added that it is up to them to integrate and involve others in the fight against the regime.
Maybe it will go into the peak season - tourist season
In the last addresses, Aleksandar Vučić gave even five election dates. One of them has already failed, the second is in May, and the third is in the middle of summer - July 10. Some politicians think that the elections could be held just then - when many are on vacation away from the places where they have the right to vote.
SRCE MP Stefan Janjić told N1 that Aleksandar Vučić himself does not know what to do and that by mentioning different dates for the holding of the elections, he only wants to confuse the citizens.
"The other day, Vučić mentioned a new date - July 10. It's Friday, I don't know how it occurred to him that the elections will be held on July 10, which means that he absolutely wants to confuse the citizens of Serbia. Well, that plan of his to possibly reconstruct the Government, for him to be prime minister. That is also possible, but I'm not really sure that he is ready to shorten his presidential mandate. He is too vain for that," said Janjić.
The dates that Dr. Dragan Milić, the president of the Movement for Decentralization of Serbia (PODES) from Niš, estimated could be adequate for Vučić for the extraordinary parliamentary elections are July 5 or 12. Milić told "Danas" that there are three important reasons for the rush: the Serbian Progressive Party needs as little turnout as possible to win, which will be provided by going on vacations; the economic crisis will be increasing and will lead to the growth of popular dissatisfaction, and the students and the opposition are "insufficiently prepared, disorganized and focused on disputes between themselves".
Summer or 2027.
Citizen activist Danijel Dašić estimated that when Vučić says something, "it is certain that he will do the complete opposite".
"You should remember that old story when a traveler meets two brothers, an honest man and a liar, and he doesn't know who is who, and he should ask them for directions and ask only one question. He should, the story says, ask them 'what would your brother tell me', and then do the complete opposite. That's how we should act, knowing the history of the truth of his statements," said Dašić.
He reminds that Vučić stated on RTS the other day that the elections will be held "either by June 28, or from September until the end of the year", and "the only thing certain is that they will be held in July or August, or in 2027 at the latest possible date, or he will even try to avoid them with a state of emergency".
Sociologist and journalist Olivera Sašek Radulović told "Danas" that it is more realistic for extraordinary parliamentary elections to be held in July than at the end of the year or on some other date.
According to her, Vučić lost 50 councilors in the recent elections in ten local governments, so it is of crucial importance to him that the turnout be as low as possible, and that mostly his voters turn out for the elections.
"If the elections are on July 5, I will vote at the consulate in Herceg Novi, and I am already asking myself how I can do it, and if they are on July 12, I will cut short my vacation and return home in order to vote at my polling station. We must not be irresponsible, and just go on vacation and justify it with the sentence: 'there is someone to vote, my vote means nothing,' because that is a serious mistake. Especially since Vučić's electorate is obedient, so many will postpone vacations, or return for a short time to vote, and they often have such financial opportunities. They will do it not only to obey Vučić, but also for personal reasons, driven by the desire to keep their privileges, capital or job," says Sašek Radulović.
The surprise factor
She assesses that the students and the opposition are "not yet ready" for the elections that would be held in July, and that Vučić is counting on such a surprise factor.
"Students and the opposition urgently need to synchronize, with absolute trust in each other, because now it is quite clear who is the real opposition and who is not. And as soon as the elections are announced, they should start an intensive campaign, talk to people, visit every village, as, say, Peter the Magyar did. It is also extremely important to create a referendum atmosphere," she says.
He believes that one list has the best chance of winning the elections, the student list, which may or may not include someone from the opposition. He suggests that the authentic list could be called "Pumpaj Student List".
Source: Danas/N1/Vreme
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