Citizens of Serbia will return to the polls on 25 October. This was confirmed by the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, in an interview with the RTS on Tuesday, 8 September. The elections have not yet been officially called, but once they are, they will be the 15th parliamentary elections since the introduction of a multi-party system, and the 11th snap elections.
While the government claims that election conditions have been improved in line with recommendations from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), criticism is arriving from non-governmental organisations and international reports.
The elections come nearly three years after the previous parliamentary elections held in December 2023, which were accompanied by allegations from the opposition, non-governmental organisations, and international observers regarding serious irregularities, pressure on voters, misuse of public resources, and official campaigning. Since then, a series of legislative amendments has been adopted, which government representatives present as a response to the recommendations of ODIHR, whereas a section of domestic organisations assesses that key issues remain unresolved.
What did the amendments to electoral laws bring?
“In a million and one ways, we have further improved electoral conditions, precisely so that no one could call into question the results of these elections, whatever they may be,” Ana Brnabić, Speaker of the National Assembly from the ruling party, said in late July.
Throughout 2025 and 2026, the National Assembly adopted a series of legal amendments aimed at fulfilling ODIHR recommendations. Among them are the establishment of the Commission for the Audit of the Voters’ Register, new rules for financing political activities, and amendments to the Law on Prevention of Corruption. In May 2026, four electoral laws were amended, including a provision allowing voters to support more than one electoral list, which was one of the recommendations of international observers.
At the end of August, amendments to the Law on Prevention of Corruption were also adopted, introducing new rules for so-called official campaigning. Under the new law, public officials cannot perform at political rallies during the campaign while presenting themselves through their public function, and the use of public resources for political promotion is prohibited.
ODIHR announces observation mission
ODIHR states that it cannot assess in advance whether electoral conditions have improved compared to the 2023 elections, as such an assessment is only made after observing the entire electoral process.
They confirmed to RFE that preparations are underway for an observation mission for the elections in Serbia. In the Mission’s report from July 2026, it was noted that Serbia had implemented some of ODIHR’s earlier recommendations, but that many long-standing recommendations remained unfulfilled or only partially implemented. It highlighted that the mission’s interlocutors expressed concern over allegations of pressure on voters, unequal conditions for election participants, the state of the media, and the safety of journalists.
For these reasons, ODIHR recommended deploying a full observation mission for the upcoming elections, including 32 long-term and 300 short-term observers.
Has anything changed since December 2023?
“I think the situation compared to that period has significantly deteriorated,” assesses Nemanja Nenadić, Programme Director of Transparency Serbia, commenting on election conditions today compared to three years ago.
He explains that the fact that laws were passed has not led to an improvement in election conditions in practice. “A significant segment of that picture belongs to the bodies responsible for monitoring the implementation of certain regulations, which over the past few years have shown a lack of readiness to proactively investigate legal violations, or even outright bias. Here I mean the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption, the police, and public prosecution offices,” Nenadić explains.
He points out that the problem of official campaigning is also present during this pre-election period. President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić has visited towns and villages across Serbia almost every day since the beginning of August – at a time when elections had not yet been called – promising citizens a better life and higher income.
“So one could say Serbia has been in some form of unannounced pre-election campaign for years,” he adds. Similar assessments were made by the non-governmental organisation Crta, which announced that even before the official calling of the elections, it had recorded instances of misuse of public resources and pressure on voters.
Violence and incidents at local elections
While the authorities reject allegations of irregularities in past elections, the latest local elections held in March 2026 across 10 municipalities in Serbia were marked by incidents and a police presence on the streets. The ruling Serbian Progressive Party declared victory in all 10 municipalities.
The observation mission of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe (CoE) stated that members of its delegation witnessed violence in almost all the municipalities they visited during the local elections. Fierce arguments, the threatening presence of masked groups, violence, and violations of the secrecy of the vote were among the issues recorded by the CoE observation mission at those elections, while the OSCE recorded an “unprecedented” level of attacks on journalists.
Nemanja Nenadić from Transparency Serbia cites the experience from the recent local elections as another reason to doubt that the parliamentary elections will be free of irregularities. The government rejects these criticisms, claiming they are inaccurate allegations through which their political opponents are trying to delegitimise the elections. At the same time, it accuses opposition activists of attacks and provocations during the local elections.
Snap elections were demanded by students during blockades in May 2025, following months of protests demanding accountability for the deaths of 16 people when a concrete canopy collapsed at the Novi Sad Railway Station on 1 November 2024. Government representatives have repeatedly announced snap elections, while President Vučić also stated that he would soon step down from the presidency before his term expires in April 2027.
(Radio Free Europe, 09.09.2026)
https://www.slobodnaevropa.org/a/srbija-vanredni-izbori-izborni-uslovi/33846931.html