The president of the People’s Party (Narodna Stranka), Vuk Jeremic, said that the turnout in the spring elections would be greater than in previous elections, but that the success of the boycott would not be measured by the turnout figures.
The People’s Party was the first to decide to boycott the elections, Jeremic said and added:” This is not just an election boycott, this is sabotage of this order… Of this system. Elections are just one of the elements that the Popular Party no longer intends to accept,” Jeremic continued.
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Jeremic said that the local elections in Medvedja were very telling.
“We probably live under an unprecedented regime of violence by the state, where the regime is forcing as many people as possible to go to the polls. The aim of the regime is to achieve a high turnout rate. I believe that the electoral list will be reduced and I think that the turnout will be higher than in previous elections,” Jeremic explained.
However, Jeremic argues that the success of the boycott will not be measured by the turnout rate.
“The success of the boycott will be measured by the time between the elections and the fall of Aleksandar Vucic. You won’t be able to tell on election day how successful the boycott was; the main reason for this decision is that we are convinced that it is the only thing that can reduce the duration of this regime,” Jeremic stressed.
The last important political organization to decide on an election boycott is Pokret Slobodnih Gradjana (PSG or Free Citizens’ Movement).
“PSG has not yet made a decision, but I sincerely hope that they will decide in favour of the boycott and that they will not participate in the elections in this farcical reality, directed by Aleksandar Vucic. Anyone who agrees to participate in this kind of thing will become a puppet of the regime,” said Jeremic.
He went on to say that the OSCE could not ensure fair and democratic electoral conditions: “They can only observe, nothing else; we alone must ensure fair and just elections,” he concluded.
(Nedeljnik, 16.09.2019)
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