BELGRADE, Serbia-Serbia’s incumbent pro-European Union populists won a landslide victory in the country’s general election on Sunday, according to an official vote tally.
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“I think this is a historic result, to win more votes in absolute terms, to win in relative numbers, in percentages, more votes than two years ago when we launched very hard reforms”, said Vucic.
Critics of Vucic have complained that his consolidation of power, while bringing some economic change, is threatening democracy.
Seselj, who was acquitted of war crimes last month by an global tribunal in the Hague, Netherlands, will be returning to parliament after the Radical Party apparently cleared the threshold needed for parliamentary representation.
Pro-Russian far-right groups are expected between them to take 10% to 15% of the vote after several years without seats in parliament.
The British ambassador “congratulated the Prime Minister Vucic on the victory and the excellent results achieved by the Serbian Progressive Party in the elections held yesterday”.
“I am nearly certain that we will carry on our European integration process and we will have to speed up the process of (EU) accession”, Vucic said after voting on Sunday.
Vucic hasn’t named a potential coalition partner, saying before the ballot only that he’d reject any party that wouldn’t agree to a pro-EU path. Potential partners may include the Socialists, with whom he has shared power since 2012.
The total turnout at Serbia’s parliamentary elections was more than 55 per cent of the approximately seven million people who were eligible to vote.
Voters queued at polling stations on Sunday as Serbia opened its third parliamentary elections in less than four years.
“Vucic is likely to press ahead with European Union membership talks and keep a middle way between Russia, Serbia’s traditional ally, and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation”, said Otilia Dhand, senior vice president at Teneo Intelligence.
Serbia remains one of the poorest countries in Europe, with unemployment at about 20 per cent and an average monthly wage of about 360 euros. “Serbia will continue on its European path and we’ll try to accelerate it. There is no compromising with that”.
“If we do not win, we will congratulate our opponents and we will be looking for no excuses”, Vucic said.
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Exactly how many seats in the 250-member parliament the Progressives end up with depends on how many other parties exceed the five percent threshold needed to get into the assembly.
