The violence of a fractured regime

Emotions haven't calmed down yet, the process isn't over yet, but let's try to answer the question of what are the most important results local elections held in ten local self-governments of Serbia. Therefore, the City of Bor, the municipalities of Arandjelovac, Bajina Bašta, Kula, Knjaževac, Kladovo, Majdanpek, Smederevska Palanka, Lučani and Užice municipality Sevojno.

We learned many neighborhoods of these places by heart, and by God we will also remember the names of the surrounding villages, especially those where incidents were recorded, i.e. where those who tried to defend the electoral will of the citizens and protect the laws of this country were attacked and beaten. It has been quoted many times, but let's repeat Duško Trifunović's quote - "Wars are fought to learn geography." It is not surprising that we also mastered this school subject in these elections, because the ruling caste, headed by an incompetent institution, turns politics, especially the elections from 2012 until today, into a war in which the opponent must be "killed". Neither the laws nor the Geneva Conventions are valid for them.

What would be the benefits of the regime and the one whose name should be mentioned as rarely as possible in order to preserve the internal organs, not the police but the stomach, liver and pancreas? They achieved what they wanted, they won in all local governments, and the result of 10:0 sounds really powerful. That ten is already widely used in the regime's propaganda, and its overriding goal is to restore confidence in the cartel pyramid, which has been thoroughly shaken, burdened by fear and internal gaps and quarrels.

Progressive internal wars have existed before over the distribution of "gains". They were strengthened as soon as the possibility of losing power and the prospect of a baibokana appeared on the horizon. It is a huge problem for this kind of government, which is made up exclusively of those with stakes and ropes, and only interest and greed keep them in power. The problem for the government, however, is that after these elections and "ten" conflicts and fear will not heal. On the contrary. To consolidate the ranks, much more convincing victories were needed than those achieved by muscle, violence and deceit. And that in places that until recently were forbidden by the regime, where the opposition existed only in traces. At the same time, the progressives know best that they would have lost at least eight to ten seats if there had been no electoral theft, despite the fact that they have gathered on their list everything that walks on the feet of the regime. They won many, many fewer votes than in the previous elections.

photo: miloš milivojević / tanjug

"OBSERVERS"

There is of course also the desire to once again prove the invincibility of the regime, with the aim of blowing defeatism in the ranks of the opposition (we use this western word, because, as we know, in Serbia "opposition" is a term that is dangerous to use). A lot of our money was invested in the "ten" and there is no doubt that it is - as has already been said several times - the most expensive elections in the history of the world's multi-party system. In this campaign, the progressives created considerable holes in the national, provincial, and local budgets, as well as in the budgets of public companies and institutions. The victory was paid for, of course, by private individuals obsessed with the regime. Perhaps some of the progressives had to use an unpopular measure, to put their hands in their thick straw bags.

Judging by the activity of "observers" on social networks, they had some success in spreading defeatism. Various anti-regime "influencers" are appearing and babbling, claiming that it is impossible to beat Vučić in the elections and that other methods must be sought. That the elections should be boycotted. Or arm yourself, I guess!? Some proposed that students and citizens in rebellion, during the election day, together with the unpopular opposition, withdraw in protest from the polling stations and from the election process, and thus send a "strong message to Europe". A person is carried away by emotion, so he would gladly like something like this, but then he turns on his brain.

What is being forgotten? The opposition has already tried to boycott once, it was not a hundred years ago. And was anyone really shaken? The government certainly isn't, and something isn't Europe either. Can anyone realistically imagine that European officials will ride into Serbia on white horses and provide us with fair and free elections? We should not, of course, underestimate the support of the countries of developed democracies, but we will have to fight for such a thing ourselves. And such a thing is not achieved overnight, with a miraculous move after which nothing will be the same. In fact, if the boycott in 2020 had any meaning - it somewhat cleared the opposition field and initially shook the favorable attitude of the West towards Vučić's regime - now it would be a shot in the knee. Like, you lose 10:0, your opponents beat you, the referees, the paid audience throw stones at you and you reach the score 10:9, then you leave the field.

BIG POLITICAL LITERACY LESSON

When it comes to miraculous moves, we should not forget that we have come this far precisely because of an attempt to solve the problem of democracy in Serbia with magic "white slips". Of course, this is not the only reason, far from it, but this idiocy, which continues in various forms to this day, pretty much enabled the regime to ride and screw up the state and society for a long time, without leaving even a trace of democracy. What someone came up with in the shade of his living room - now has to be corrected with blood, sweat and tears, long and patiently.

Let's remember that the legacy of "white tickets", which continues to this day - and the dramatic departure from opposition parties as such, which have been lying like fools to an incompetent institution for a decade or so - is a slap in the face! The parties themselves are to blame for that unpopularity, of course, but they have been operating between at least two fires all these years. And there was nothing left but for the students to show up. Thank God that it happened, but maybe, if there was political literacy and rationality, they would be sitting now, enjoying their youth, and scum wouldn't be smashing their heads in the street.

However, it cannot be said that the regime achieved great success in terms of defeatism. On the contrary, the reactions of the overwhelming majority of citizens show that everything that has been happening since 2012, and especially what the student movement has brought us, has turned into a great lesson in political literacy!

Here is an election comment from an "ordinary woman" on the net: "It wasn't just an election. It was a moment in which many people stood up for the first time. No fuss, no big words, but with something that cannot be faked - dignity. The results were published as they were published. The paper suffers all kinds of things, the numbers even more. But what does not suffer is the feeling in your stomach when you know you did the right thing. And that, children, no one can take away from you."

photo: marija janković

HUMAN DIGNITY STILL EXISTS

This is exactly what the "ordinary woman" wrote - and the greatest electoral benefit of the student-citizen movement. The children showed their backbone, proved that human dignity still exists in these areas, they put their heads where most of us old men, in football jargon, wouldn't even put their worn-out football boots. However this all ends, it should be remembered that this story is not only political. This is literature, this is - without exaggeration - a mythical poem in which a battle is fought between opponents who have everything in their hands: weapons, force, money, media, police, private state, and on the other side are kids, not only kids, but above all kids who had to borrow cars and gas money from their parents in order to control the polling stations. Neither beatings, nor thugs, nor the police in the service of organized crime, nor those crazy bikers who roamed the streets of cities and toured violence - did not prevent them from doing so. They showed that the movement is alive, really alive, that it just changed the form of action, which is actually a wise decision, because it would be pointless to just hang around in the streets for years.

A 0:10 loss is actually a big win. There is no doubt that the results would have been completely different if students and citizens had not been brave and active. Both on election day and in the previous period. The anger shown by the "public addresser" on election night is anger because there was an estimate that he would be able to win and coddle many more votes than he succeeded in doing. The beatings that the students and citizens received were the result of the same anger, they prevented the leftists from doing what they had been doing freely and peacefully a decade and a half ago, those they convinced that it was a common, normal job, and not a crime - overturning the will of the citizens. It is clear to everyone with a pinch of salt in their heads that the students would have won in at least eight out of ten places if there had been no progressive "election management".

It is not a negligible fact that in the city, urban cores almost everywhere the students won. People from the countryside should not be underestimated - there is also a strong resistance movement there - but there is heavy media darkness and there are many people who are very vulnerable, who have been convinced that with the change of government they will lose what they don't have. Radicals, sorry progressives, know how to manipulate the world that lives below the poverty line. They learn about this at their "Dr. Vojislav Šešelj Academy". But even in those small villages things did not go completely out of their hands, they got much less votes than they expected by giving away irons, microwave ovens, refrigerators and even tractors bought from our money. Of course, money as such.

SPOTLIGHTS

Let's remember that a month ago, the "famous" IPSOS came out with data that the rating of the student movement was somewhere around eight percent, at the state level. The least that could be expected is for this agency to go public after Sunday's elections and explain how they arrived at that figure, so that no one would think that their research was just part of the regime's propaganda aimed at depriving the anti-regime bloc of hope. If it's the wrong methodology, gentlemen, then your methodologists should be doing something else!

You don't have to be a researcher of public opinion to understand that the rating of the student-citizen movement at the republican level is much, much higher. And that is the materialized result of these elections, which can only blow the wind at the back of the student movement. The feeling that victory is close at hand even in such inhumane conditions is a much bigger flywheel than a sign that your rating is falling and that you cannot stop that fall even with all the power in the world. The street activism and bravery of the citizens and the cowardice of the hordes of outlawed criminals, guarded by the police, sent a very clear message to anyone who was even remotely ready to receive that message. And now, if the regime decides not to recognize the electoral will, it is a completely different story. Does it need to be reiterated that October 5th would never have happened if it weren't for September 24th?

There is another thing that the student movement achieved, which was seen in the elections. The political leaders of the minorities have so far successfully driven their flock into the progressive fold. The elections in Kula have shown that they are no longer able to do that completely. Let's say, the Ruthenians were under great pressure, a famous Ruthenian list was even formed, but they mostly voted for the students. It is noticeable in some election places in the Kula that the Hungarians are also making a departure from the SNS, that is, the SVM. And there will be more and more of that, especially if "Brother Orbán" loses the elections in Hungary, and that will be the case. Balint Pastor will then go down in the dustbin of history, he may even end up being some kind of regime's private Hungarian for painting.

There should be no doubt that the election violence and the naked reshaping of the citizens' will also affect the further decline in the rating of the "wise leader" in democratic countries. Videos of violence against citizens, students, professors, and journalists were viral not only in the region. Every Western leader will think more about this before embracing the one whose name is not mentioned without immediate need and in whom everything has dried up except anger, malice, sadism and hatred. We have already seen several sharp reactions of international institutions to the regime's election violence. There will be more. Directing all the spotlights on the self-government elections, the regime also focused them on what it would like to hide, at least from the eyes of the international community.

photo: dejan živancevic / tanjug

PREPARE FOR THE PARLIAMENTARY AND PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

The matter is mostly clear. After all, it is unlikely that the competent institution will soon announce parliamentary elections, maybe they will try to combine them with presidential elections, so that somehow it will be the holder of all the lists, including the one for the head of state. The non-competent institution is the holder, and the candidate has another name. We have seen everything, so this is not out of the question either. But he has a big problem with the presidential candidate. Allegedly, Ivica Dačić from the regime side has the highest rating, according to progressive research. And where to put him now that he managed to bury SPS. The second is supposedly Siniša Mali, but far behind. It is hard to imagine that the regime's candidate for president could be Miloš Vučević or some similar appearance. They would even have to bribe his immediate family to vote for him.

But there will be choices, they will have to. Time flows, and it does not work for the regime. Maybe she would like to, but there is no non-competent institution strong enough to abolish the multi-party system or possibly change the Constitution, so that she can run for president again.

And until the elections, this anti-regime party should seriously prepare and not fall into defeatism, nor allow internal quarrels. We know, it's easy to say, but it can and must be done. Ten self-governments brought all the power that the progressives have to the streets, and that's roughly the power they can count on in the parliamentary elections in the entire country. It's not too big. A lot of money will be invested again, but money can't do everything. The space for the regime has also been narrowed when it comes to some other mechanisms, such as the planting of fake candidates and lists, whose aim is to draw away part of the anti-regime votes. The results of these elections show that this is no longer the case. Your money is wasted!

Finally, we come to an important issue, which is the relationship between the student movement and the opposition parties. It is very good that in some places a joint list of the movement and the opposition has been made. It is a good signal, and the result is promising. It is also good that the opposition in other places gave up the elections and supported the students. It is not even the worst thing if two lists appear in the parliamentary elections, the worst thing would be if the fighting between the opposition parties and the students dominates. That should be abandoned as a matter of urgency. The elections showed who is by far the biggest and most important opponent of the regime today. It's a student movement! They are in charge, and there is no dispute! The opposition parties would have to understand that. In order to overthrow the anti-civilization government, if that is their goal, they will have to put aside vanity and shallow interests.

photo: marija janković

Electoral “irregularities”

We will probably never know how many thousands of people in Serbia live only from the organization of election theft, which we diminutively call - election irregularities. They do nothing but deal with it. Some of them are fictitiously employed in public companies, some receive cash from party or coffers of affiliated criminal organizations. One gets the impression that the elections are organized every now and then just to teach them how to do it, that is, to organize it better.

How do the progressives change the electoral will of the citizens? Blackmail and threats directed at employees in public services, together with their families. If they don't get so many votes, they will be fired. For this purpose, many are employed on temporary contracts in order to be fired more easily. This also applies to companies in which the state has a stake, as well as to private companies that receive lucrative jobs from the state. There is also the abuse of social benefits, where the lowest social classes are blackmailed or bought with what would otherwise be theirs if the institutions did their job. In fact, they would get much more. In order to control these processes, parallel voter lists and frequent voting from home are used. There are also Bulgarian trains and the painting of ballot papers.

In the past elections, apparently there was much less theft at the polling station itself, because the student-citizen-opposition bloc had controllers everywhere. Previously, this was not the case, a large percentage of polling stations were uncovered, so we can only imagine what happened when the goat was guarding the cabbage. Since 2013, armed and armed bilzers from the underground have been appearing, spreading fear during elections. Which is intended for political opponents as well as citizens.

There are also illegal call centers. The non-competent institution says that call centers are one of the important features of a multi-party system. True, but only if they operate within the law. Those working in progressive call centers would be arrested, along with the organizers, in any serious country. Why? Well, because call centers must not be illegal, their costs must be reported to the competent state institutions, citizens must not be intimidated or blackmailed from them by telephone, votes must not be bought and sensitive data obtained from public companies and institutions, as well as from telecommunication operators, must not be misused.

There is also the migration of voters from abroad, we have seen that, but also within the country. Therefore, it would be important for all local elections to be held consecutively, so that someone, for example, from Kovino would not vote in Kula, and then again in Kovino. Although there are some legal restrictions on this, there is no effective method of control, so the progressives make very good use of it. Allegedly, a large number of progressive teams deal only with voter migration.

Bojan Pajtić, a professor at the Faculty of Law in Novi Sad, tells us about what it looks like on the example of one place in the municipality of Kula: "The level of panic from the loss of power in the ranks of the SNS became completely obvious at the moment when the regime decided to move a part of voters from other parts of the country who do not know the language to Ruski Krstur, a village where the dominant Ruthenian language is spoken, and they immediately caught the eye. When they did such things in big cities, it could often go unnoticed, but in the villages "People know each other. So the theft happened completely openly, in front of the domestic and international public," says Pajtić.

STOJKOVIC: GATHERING AROUND THE STUDENT BLOCK

Biljana Stojković, a member of the Presidency of the Democratic Party, said in an interview for "Vreme" that the elections showed a huge mobilization of citizens and their willingness to defend their electoral will in the elections. Hundreds of people gathered in each place, both locals and from other parts of Serbia.

"Students and young people flooded the places where the elections were held. I met a lot of university professors, people from choirs, bikers and veterans. We all connected and shared roles during the day. And the strongest impression is the unity and unique action of the student movement. Anyone who imposes stories about divisions within the movement in the public either does not have the right information or does it with some intentions. Whenever key events take place, students close ranks and effectively manage the processes. That is why they are strong and represent a point gatherings", she adds.

Stojković believes that the results showed that the student list has a great chance to overcome the progressive regime. Any splitting of the pool of opposition voters into several lists is not good. It should be clear to the opposition parties.

"As much as some try to impose themselves as an alternative to the student-citizen front, people feel the referendum atmosphere and fully understand who is creating and strengthening it. This was another opportunity for opposition politicians to understand that and I hope they received the message. All the talk about the lack of organization of students has proven to be false. It would be good if the opposition leaders stop spreading such messages. I see only one direction of further struggle - rallying around the student list, providing every assistance in strengthening this force and active participation in pre-election activities, on behalf of this list. The professors were accredited observers and members of the mobile teams. A lot was done on Sunday thanks to the fact that we were trained to act according to the law and procedures, which is not the case with the progressive delegates, adding that the progressives have very little knowledge of what may or may not be done, which is a consequence of decades of dominance in the polling stations, where no one could help them oppose. She is optimistic about the future parliamentary elections.

"Good organization was shown, the need for citizens to be active and the results are obvious. The SNS definitely stole massively in the elections, but I claim that they didn't steal anywhere near as much as they intended. For the next elections, the organization needs to be massively expanded," claims Stojković.

PAJTIC"VUCIC'S VICTORY"

Bojan Pajtić tells us that the students wrested several combined methods from Vučić's hands, thanks to which he has been "robbing Serbia for 14 years". They are breaking the media blockade by doing door-to-door campaigns across the country, preventing theft at polling stations by deploying armies of controllers and choir members to guard every vote.

"There are more and more people who work in the public sector and do not agree to vote by command because fear after the student rebellion - changed sides. It will not be possible to organize the migration of voters in the parliamentary elections, because in those elections not only the citizens of Serbia, but also Serbian citizens from the surrounding countries have the right to vote. In these elections, everyone realized that the SNS with all its satellites does not enjoy majority support, the 'victories' in the regime's strongest strongholds until yesterday were barely won by vote buying, sheer violence and by the peasants who vote in the settlements where they were born for the first time. After these elections, no one in the international community will support the ruling party in Serbia. It seems that we should replace the phrase "Pyrrhic victory" with the phrase "Vučić's victory".

JOVOVIC: THE REAL RECIPE FOR DESTROYING AUTOCRACY

Novi Sad activist and professor of political science Radivoje Jovović tells us that the elections showed that the citizens' desire for freedom from the autocratic regime is undiminished. He believes that the elections only further fueled this desire, because it is clear that the support of the progressives was dramatically reduced and that they barely won despite all the electoral irregularities, including the bringing of "phantom voters" and intimidation.

"By the way, these are places where Vučić and his clique were the unquestioned rulers of life and death. The election results are fantastic news for our society. It has been shown that Serbia really has the strength for social and political changes, and this is only a hint of the decline of the SNS that will only follow when the big cities vote. It has been shown that the progressive capacities are overstretched even though they focused on only ten local governments. We are in the terminal phase of the ruling party, which will increase repression, but on the other hand, they will increasingly lose their political compass. These elections are a great encouragement for us, and a great discouragement for them. The members of the SNS and satellite parties are already looking at how to leave the sinking ship as painlessly as possible," says Jovović.

Jovović says that we need to realize that, just as we need to realize that the student movement is the strongest political force in the country. Now it has become an established fact, he says.

"Elections are the right way. With the support of citizens, formal and informal organizations, it has been shown that the student movement has the strength to carry out a real, serious election campaign, but also to defend the electoral will of citizens. It is the right combination: elections and organized civil self-defense. It is also the right recipe for overthrowing hybrid autocratic regimes. Win the elections, despite all the thefts, and then defend that victory with heart and body," says Jovović.

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