Serbian President Dissolves Parliament, Calls Early Elections

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic signed a decree on Wednesday to dissolve the parliament and called an early election on Dec. 17.

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"We live in difficult times for the whole world, times of global challenges, wars and conflicts, times when it is necessary for all of us to be united in the struggle to preserve the vital national and state interests of the Republic of Serbia," Vucic said after signing the decree.

Vucic noted the importance for Serbia to "preserve peace, stability and internal cohesion and to show democracy." He also said that "this campaign is an opportunity to present different ideas, programs, policies (...) but they should never threaten the vital interests of Serbia." 

The president further mentioned several pressures, including on the province of Kosovo, which declared its independence in 2008. There have been high tensions in that region for months, particularly in northern Kosovo, bordering Serbia and with a large ethnic Serb population.

On Monday, the government sent a reasoned proposal to Vucic to dissolve the parliament elected on April 3, 2022. 

According to the authorities, there had been recent requests from a section of the public to call for new, extraordinary elections of deputies. Some of the opposition political parties had submitted such a request to the president in September 2023.

The extraordinary parliamentary election will coincide with local votes in 65 municipalities, including the capital Belgrade. 

The electorate will vote for all members of the 250-seat Parliament, as well as the 120-seat Vojvodina Autonomous Oblast Assembly and municipal councils of cities and districts throughout the country.

This comes at a time when Vucic's popularity has been dented after months of anti-government protests, following the two mass shootings in May. In less than 48h, at least 17 people were killed.

According to Belgrade-based Stata pollster, his ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) would garner around 44% of votes, and it will have to seek allies to form a majority in the 250-seat parliament.

The centrist opposition bloc Against The Violence, comprised of left, green and centrist parties, is seen on 38%, while ultranationalist and pro-Russian parties are expected to jointly have around 11% of votes.