Written by Duko Goedegebuure
Since part of a railway station in the Serbian city of Novi Sad collapsed, killing 16 people, dissatisfied Serbian citizens have been taking to the streets in large numbers for almost two years. At first, the protests were led mainly by students, but they were soon joined by growing numbers of Serbians from other parts of society. Two years after the collapse, President Vučić has resigned and elections are approaching.
Ahead of the Serbian elections on 25 October, PRO International is publishing a three-part series asking whether Serbia is moving back towards democracy, or whether Vučić has already reshaped the rules of the game so thoroughly that Serbia is drifting further towards autocracy. In part one, we explain how the collapse of a railway station led to elections, and what is at stake for Serbians in this vote.
From collapse to election
For many Serbians, the collapse of part of the railway station illustrated what was wrong with their country, particularly large-scale and widespread corruption. The students had two simple demands: they wanted to see the tender documents for the station’s renovation, and they demanded that those responsible be brought to justice. To put pressure on the institutions and the government, the students took to the streets en masse. Dissatisfaction with the government grew, and at the height of the protests as many as 300,000 people took to the streets in the capital, Belgrade.300,000 people took to the streets in the capital, Belgrade Nor did it stop there. Across the country, in every municipality, citizens took to the streets to demonstrate against corruption and the government, and to demand justice.
The responsible institutions did not meet the students’ demands. According to Tamara Tripić, a former member of parliament and prominent Serbian human rights activist, “none of these demands is radical, and in a well-functioning democracy these two requests would obviously be met”. However, because the institutions are entirely controlled by Vučić, this did not happen. As a result, the students added a further demand: elections. They saw this as the only way to obtain justice.
At the end of September, Vučić yielded to this demand and called early elections. He is not stepping down, however, and is himself contesting the elections with the aim of becoming prime minister. According to Tamara, the upcoming elections represent a crossroads for Serbia: “We must choose whether we want to continue living in this controlled state, or whether we seize the opportunity to rebuild our country, stone by stone”.
Repression as a strategy
Since Vučić came to power in Serbia, democracy in the country has come under increasing pressure. The most striking feature is the government’s strong influence over the media landscape. As a result, independent news media have almost disappeared. According to Tamara, Serbians are therefore living in “parallel realities”. Political scientist Geert Luteijn, who specialises in Serbian politics, paints a similar picture. In his view, “the playing field is not level when it comes to the media, because alternative voices have been completely silenced by the regime”.
In addition, the Vučić government uses violence and repression on a large scale.the Vučić government uses violence and repression on a large scale Journalists are not the only ones affected. Tamara explained that “peacefully protesting students are also intimidated and arrested”.
This strategy has worked several times in previous elections. Through large-scale repression of the media and journalists, and the lack of a united opposition capable of defeating Vučić, many young people and progressive voters lost faith in the elections. This time, the students are contesting the elections themselves, with a diverse list of candidates.
Almost the entire opposition has rallied behind the student list. According to Tamara, this makes the election different. “We have never seen such a large mobilisation of people who are going to vote; in particular, young people who do not normally vote now seem ready to do so”.the students are contesting the elections themselves
Nevertheless, neither of them has any confidence that the elections will be conducted fairly. Tamara fears a Trump-style “denial of defeat”. Geert explains that Vučić is “certainly prepared to commit far-reaching electoral fraud, and that it is very important for us to address this internationally”.
It remains to be seen what will happen on Sunday, 25 October, but the mass demonstrations against corruption, against Vučić and in favour of democracy have brought a glimmer of hope. For the first time in years, a break with the Vučić era seems possible.
The second part of this series looks further at the student list’s strategy and the decisions made by other opposition parties about whether or not to rally behind the student list.
