Serbia is awaiting early parliamentary elections, and aside from the question of their timing, there is also uncertainty over whether the presidential elections will be held alongside them “as a package.”
While the results of the recent local elections did not send a clear signal for urgency, analysts are divided: some believe it would be logical for the authorities to combine the votes, as Aleksandar Vučić could “lend” his popularity to the candidate he would nominate as his successor for head of state, while others predict a separation, as the parliamentary elections will be the decisive battleground.
Ognjen Gogić, a political scientist, told Blic daily that although these results are somewhat relevant for determining the timing of parliamentary elections, their impact on the decision to merge them with presidential elections is almost neutral. Any potential merging of elections will reflect a broader political strategy of the ruling circles, he emphasised.
“The results of the local elections have not given the ruling side any reason to rush into calling parliamentary elections. A victory was achieved. This is not an outcome that would prompt the authorities to quickly test their support at the national level. That does not mean they would have decided to call elections soon even if the victory had been more convincing. The decision is made based on overall circumstances in the country and the world, not on local government elections, which do not represent a representative sample of national sentiment,“ Gogić believes.
He also reminds that Aleksandar Vučić’s term as President of Serbia expires in the spring of 2027, and that it has been hinted he could return to the position of Prime Minister afterwards.
„Given that there is a year left until the presidential elections, it is economically irrational for two major electoral processes to be held within just a few months of each other. Politically, it makes even less sense for the ruling party to separate them. Presidential elections pose greater uncertainty for them than parliamentary ones, as they do not have within their ranks a figure with popularity anywhere near that of Vučić. Merging the elections would allow Aleksandar Vučić, from the position of president, to lead the campaign for prime minister, while at the same time “lending” his popularity to the candidate he would nominate as his successor for head of state,“ Gogić points out.
The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, has said that elections will be held by the end of the year, possibly even by Vidovdan. When he last spoke about his mandate, he said, among other things, that “we will probably go together to presidential and parliamentary elections.”
Parliamentary and presidential elections will (not) be combined
Vladimir Pejić, programme director of Faktor Plus, believes that the results of the local elections will not significantly affect the timing of early parliamentary elections and that they will not be held together with those for the head of state.
“My assessment is that national and presidential elections will be separated. I think parliamentary elections will come first, in November or December, and then, as required by law, presidential elections in March or April at the latest,” Pejić said.
“I believe the elections will be separated because the focus will be on parliamentary elections; they will be the main, decisive ones, where things will be settled – he added. They might first go for presidential elections, which create an opportunity for a referendum-like atmosphere, with two candidates, where it is much easier for the opposition or opponents of the government. I think the goal is for parliamentary elections to show the true picture of the situation in Serbia,” Pejić stated.
“The government will have one candidate”
Đorđe Vukadinović, a political analyst, said that if he were in Aleksandar Vučić’s position, he would “play it differently.”
“I would go first with presidential elections. Simply to try to further divide the opposition bloc over the candidate. Because the government will, in any case, have a single candidate. And this opposition, even the parliamentary and student factions, does not have a clearly defined single candidate. Let alone being able to agree together…” Vukadinović assessed.
The last parliamentary elections were held on 17 December 2023. The mandate of the current Government expires at the end of 2027, and in that same year, regular presidential elections, as well as local elections in a large number of cities and municipalities, are due to be held according to the law.
Key facts
* Parliamentary elections are called by the President of the Republic
* No fewer than 45 days and no more than 60 days may pass between calling the elections and voting day
* In the last elections on 17 December 2023, there were 6,500,066 registered voters
* According to the Republic Electoral Commission, 3,820,746 people voted, or 58.77%
* This is Vučić’s second term, which expires in spring 2027
Vučić was elected president for the second time in the first round on 3 April, and he took the oath for his second term on 31 May 2022.
(Blic, 02.04.2026)