“Thank you all. The score is 10-0. Thank you, Serbia, for the enormous trust.”
With that declaration at Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) headquarters, President Aleksandar Vučić framed Sunday’s local elections in 10 municipalities as a clean sweep. Of the 247,985 citizens eligible to vote across those towns, official results on paper gave SNS victory everywhere — extending its long record of dominance. But observers, opposition figures and independent monitors say the reality was far less straightforward.
Concerns that have dogged previous ballots resurfaced: overwhelming media advantage enjoyed by the ruling party, widespread use of state resources in campaigning and so-called “functionary campaigning,” where public officials blur the line between government work and party activity. On election day there were familiar reports of irregularities — vote-buying allegations, voter intimidation, parallel voter lists and the “Bulgarian train” tactic, in which pre-filled ballots are supplied to be cast at the polling station.
Monitors also reported compromised ballot secrecy, organized transport of voters and systematic monitoring of turnout — all signs of coordinated efforts to influence the outcome. But observers say the scale and ferocity of interference this time was greater than in many prior contests.
Rasa Nedeljkov, head of the independent CRTA election observation mission, described a pattern of intimidation aimed at anyone trying to document or stop illegal activity. Organized groups were reported operating at polling sites: masked men carrying sticks, and in some incidents axes, chased voters, attacked journalists and confronted observers trying to film or register irregularities. By nightfall there were reports of injured people, hospitalized reporters and beaten election monitors.
CRTA characterized the day’s events as “terror against citizens.” Nedeljkov and other observers pointed to signs of coordination: some of those who perpetrated violence were seen entering or leaving party offices and public buildings. In a few cases officials and pro-government outlets recast the confrontations; Serbia’s parliament speaker Ana Brnabić posted footage of men in black pursuing citizens and framed it as an attempt to defend democracy from blockaders. Police responses often appeared delayed or inadequate, reinforcing a perception of limited institutional control.
Despite that pressure, SNS victories were noticeably narrower than in previous local races. In several municipalities the margins were razor-thin — sometimes only a few hundred votes — and in at least three or four councils the final balance came down to a single seat or two. “These are smaller municipalities where SNS has traditionally been very strong. And yet, in at least three or four of them, the victory came down to one or two seats,” said Dušan Spasojević, a political science professor in Belgrade. In some town councils the party will now need coalition partners — a new and potentially uncomfortable dynamic for a party accustomed to comfortable majorities.
It is too soon to declare a decisive turning point, but the results point to emerging cracks in a system long seen as unassailable. Analysts and civic actors say the opposition, student movements and civil society must coordinate to capitalize on these shifts and push for genuinely fair conditions in future contests. For Nedeljkov, the immediate priority is restoring credible electoral rules: those who argue elections cannot bring change are wrong, she said — giving up would let the abuses seen in these ten municipalities become the new normal rather than an exception that demands action.
For now, SNS can claim a procedural sweep. Attention is already turning to what comes next: talk of early parliamentary elections, widely regarded by parts of the opposition as the next, potentially decisive test of political strength.
Edited by: Astrid Benölken, Ruairi Casey