Serious irregularities in the local elections and scenes of violence were recorded today in three of the ten locations in Serbia where local elections are being held. In Bor, Bajina Bašta, and Kula, independent journalists and observers report parallel voter lists and organized attacks by masked thugs, among whom officials from the ruling parties were identified. The situation is particularly alarming due to the fact that the police largely did not intervene against the perpetrators of violence.
Voting also took place in Knjaževac, Sevojno, Kladovo, Smederevska Palanka, Aranđelovac, Lučani, and Majdanpek. One hour before the end of voting (8 p.m.), TV N1 reported high turnout in all locations, at around 60 percent.
“Today’s election day in Bor has been marked by a series of incidents of physical violence. The dynamics of the day are perhaps best illustrated by the fact that, for the first time in a place where I observe elections, I know where the hospital, the police station, and the court are located. For CRTA’s observation mission, the fact that the basic safety of observers, activists, and journalists is not guaranteed by the Ministry of Interior sends a very serious signal. What we are witnessing has no trace of free elections, let alone any shades of democracy today,” said Raša Nedeljkov, head of CRTA’s observation mission.
He noted that in most locations they recorded strict control over voting, as well as direct interference in the electoral process through lists of “secure votes of our president.”
In the town of Kula, CRTA’s observation mission documented an attack by a large group of masked “unknown individuals,” who, after emerging from the city stadium, injured several people using stones, metal bars, sticks, and flares. The injured, who sustained head injuries, sought assistance at the city hospital.
“The police reacted immediately but did not carry out an inspection nor enter the stadium. The unidentified individuals who carried out the attack are located inside the stadium,” said Pavle Dimitrijević, head of CRTA’s legal team.
A larger group of citizens then gathered at the scene, dissatisfied with the police response. Additional incidents were later reported throughout the town.
Footage from Bor and Aranđelovac indicatrs that members of the Russian biker group “Night Wolves” took part in intimidation of citizens and the opposition.
In Bajina Bašta, during the night, tires were punctured on vehicles belonging to observation missions, while during the day there were multiple incidents of street violence, including the destruction of a car. Footage from one of the incidents shows, in addition to attackers armed with batons, an unidentified man carrying a firearm.
In Bor, one of the beatings occurred after a large group of pro-government enforcers, referred to in Serbia as “ćaci” (also transliterated as “čaci” in Macedonian media), emerged from the premises of the Pension and Health Insurance Fund and beat up students.
In Bor, other citizens were also physically attacked, including journalists and a CRTA observer, whose mobile phones were taken during the incident.
Nedeljkov stated that “one police officer physically threatened with a weapon in an attempt to calm tensions, while the attackers said ‘we don’t care at all,’ insulted him, and attacked the young men and our observer.”
The portal Mašina published footage from Knjaževac showing police officers, who were informed by students that violence was taking place nearby, refusing to go to the scene and instead directing them to the police station.
In Kraljevo, the police prevented a larger group of citizens who had gathered in front of a building where masked attackers had fled after the initial assaults from confronting them.
TV Nova S reported that during one of the incidents in Bor, a citizen complained that police officers broke his arm while he was defending his son from pro-government attackers.
The civil organization CRTA today has observation missions in all 10 locations where local elections are being held, organized through mobile teams. The full composition of the missions includes 300 trained volunteer observers, while logistics and fuel costs are covered by individual donations from citizens.
