Next Serbian parliamentary election

Next Serbian parliamentary election

← 2023 by 31 December 2027

All 250 seats in the National Assembly 126 seats needed for a majority

Party Leader Current seats SNS coalition Miloš Vučević 112 SSP Marinika Tepić 16 NPS–NLS Miroslav Aleksić 14 SPS–Zeleni Ivica Dačić 13 NADA Miloš Jovanović 13 ZLF Radomir Lazović 10 SRCE Zdravko Ponoš 9 DS Zoran Lutovac 8 MI–GIN Branko Pavlović 7 MI–SN Branimir Nestorović 6 PUPS Milan Krkobabić 6 VMSZ Bálint Pásztor 6 SDPS Rasim Ljajić 6 JS Dragan Marković 5 EU Aleksandar Jovanović 5 PS–NSS–USS–RS Đorđe Komlenski 5 Independents 8 Vacant 1 Incumbent Prime Minister Miloš Vučević SNS

Parliamentary elections will be held in Serbia by 31 December 2027 to elect members of the National Assembly.

The Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) came to power in 2012 after forming a government with Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS). In the 2023 parliamentary election, SNS re-gained its parliamentary majority. Due to the allegations of electoral fraud, protests were held after the election, with its organisers calling for the annulment of the results.

Background[edit]

A populist coalition, led by the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), came to power after the 2012 election, along with the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS).^[1][2] Aleksandar Vučić, who initially served as deputy prime minister and later as prime minister, was elected president in 2017 and re-elected in 2022.^[3][4] Since he came to power, observers have assessed that Serbia has suffered from democratic backsliding into authoritarianism, followed by a decline in media freedom and civil liberties.^[5][6] In 2023, the V-Dem Institute categorised Serbia as an electoral autocracy, while Freedom House noted that SNS "eroded political rights and civil liberties, put pressure on independent media, the opposition, and civil society organisations".^[7][8][9]

On 17 December 2023, parliamentary elections were held in Serbia; it was a snap election.^[10] The election resulted in a victory of the SNS-led Serbia Must Not Stop electoral alliance, winning a majority of seats in the National Assembly of Serbia.^[11] The second place was obtained by Serbia Against Violence (SPN), a broad coalition of opposition parties, winning 65 seats in total.^[11] The SPS electoral alliance, however, collapsed and only won 18 seats, its worst result since the 2007 parliamentary election.^[11] Despite this, according to non-governmental and monitoring organisations, the election day was marked with electoral fraud, with irregularities such as the Bulgarian train and vote buying.^[12][13] The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights concluded this in its report that was published in February 2024.^[14] Protests were held up to 30 December, with its organisers, including SPN, calling for the results to be annulled.^[15][16] Amidst the protests, a riot occurred after an unsuccessful attempt from opposition councillors trying to enter the building of the City Assembly of Belgrade.^[17] After the elections, the European Parliament held a session in January 2024, discussing the 2023 elections in Serbia.^[18] A month later, it adopted a resolution regarding the election.^[19]

After several months of negotiations, SNS formed a new government on 2 May, with Miloš Vučević, who is also the president of SNS, as prime minister.^[20]

Electoral system[edit]

The 250 members of the National Assembly are elected by closed-list proportional representation from a single nationwide constituency.^[21][22] Eligible voters vote for electoral lists, on which the candidates of the accepted lists are present.^[22] A maximum of 250 candidates could be present on a single electoral list.^[22] An electoral list could be submitted by a registered political party, a coalition of political parties, or a citizens' group.^[22] To submit an electoral list, at least 10,000 valid signatures must be collected, though ethnic minority parties only need to collect 5,000 signatures to qualify on the ballot.^[22][23] At least 40 percent of candidates on electoral lists must be female.^[24] The electoral list is submitted by its chosen representative or representatives.^[25] An electoral list could be declined, after which those who had submitted can fix the deficiencies in a span of 48 hours, or rejected, if the person is not authorised to nominate candidates.^[25] The name and date of the election, names of the electoral lists and its representatives, and information on how to vote are only present on the voting ballot.^[25]

The Republic Electoral Commission (RIK), local election commissions, and polling boards oversee the election.^[25] Seats are allocated using the d'Hondt method with an electoral threshold of 3 percent of all votes cast, although the threshold is waived for ethnic minority parties.^[21][26] The seats are distributed by dividing the total number of votes received by the electoral list participating in the distribution of seats by each number from one to 250.^[25] If two or more electoral lists receive the same quotients on the basis of which the seat is distributed, the electoral list that received the greater number of votes has priority.^[25] Parliamentary seats are awarded to candidates from electoral lists according to their order, starting with the first candidate from an electoral list.^[22]

A parliamentary election is called by the president of Serbia, who also has to announce its date and dissolve the National Assembly in the process.^[22][25] According to law, the next parliamentary election is supposed to take place by 31 December 2027.^[27] It is possible for a snap election to take place.^[28] To vote, a person has to be a citizen and resident of Serbia and at least 18 years old.^[27] For those who live abroad, they are able to vote at diplomatic missions.^[21] At least five days before the election, citizens are notified about the election; citizens receive information about the day and time of the election and the address of the polling station where they can vote.^[22] Election silence begins two days before the voting day, and it lasts until the closure of all polling stations.^[29] During the election day, eligible voters could vote from 07:00 (UTC+01:00) to 20:00, though if the polling station is opened later than 07:00, voting is then extended by the amount of time for which the opening of the polling station was delayed.^[25][30] Voters who are not able to vote at polling stations due to being sick, old, or invalid have to inform their election commission before 11:00 so that they could vote on the election day from their home between after 11:00.^[30]

Political parties[edit]

The table below lists political parties and coalitions elected to the National Assembly after the 2023 parliamentary election. SPN ceased to exist in April 2024, after a dispute between its parties on whether to boycott the 2024 Belgrade City Assembly election.^[31]

Current composition[edit]

The fourteenth convocation of the National Assembly held its constitutive session on 6 February 2024, at which the 14th parliamentary composition was formalised.^[33] Ana Brnabić of SNS was elected president of the National Assembly on 19 March, while Sandra Božić (SNS), Marina Raguš (SNS), Snežana Paunović (SPS), Elvira Kovács (Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians, VMSZ), Edin Đerlek (Justice and Reconciliation Party, SPP), and Jovan Janjić (We – Voice from the People, MI–GIN) were elected vice-presidents.^[34]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Republic Electoral Commission