Vucic Runs For Prime Minister With Flawed Voter Data

Serbian voters will cast ballots on October 25, but 500,000 registered individuals lack complete address details on the electoral roll. These records often miss specific street names or house numbers. The gap affects how voters are assigned to polling stations in the days leading up to the vote.

Aleksandar Vucic is seeking the position of prime minister. He holds the post currently and previously served in that role from 2014 to 2017. Vucic resigned as president in late September to avoid running for a third term in that office. His ruling party faces a direct challenge from a student-led opposition movement.

The opposition emerged from widespread protests that began after the Novi Sad railway station canopy collapsed on November 1, 2024. That disaster killed sixteen people. The incident sparked allegations of corruption in a construction project led by Chinese businesses. Protests continued through 2025, including a March 15 incident where authorities allegedly used a sonic weapon against demonstrators.

Vladimir Bilcik, a former European Parliament rapporteur for Serbia, described the upcoming election as the first in over a decade with a genuinely uncertain outcome. Polling data shows the electorate is deeply split between supporters of the ruling coalition and the student movement. The opposition list is headed by cardiologist Ilija Srdanovic, though the group does not have formal leaders.

The OSCE deployed 300 observers to Serbia to monitor the process. An interim report from the body contradicted government claims that all recommendations from the 2023 observation mission were implemented. The government maintains it has fixed the issues identified by previous international monitors.

Investigations found that hundreds of voters are listed at public facilities like social welfare centers. Other records show large numbers of voters at residential addresses that could not logically accommodate so many people. The number of eligible voters in Bosnia and Kosovo increased ahead of the vote, regions considered key sources of support for Vucic's Progressive Party.

Four employees of Serbia-funded institutions in Kosovo told RFE/RL that they faced pressure to vote for the ruling party. This practice was also documented in several Serbian municipalities. The political climate is complicated by allegations of illegal surveillance using Pegasus software, which is banned in Serbia. Research by the Serbian nonprofit SHARE and Toronto University researchers found at least sixteen cases of such surveillance in 2026.

The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee cited reports of illegal monitoring of opposition members in a statement on October 21. Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed personal support for Vucic. Vucic pledged to maintain his foreign policy course, including his refusal to follow EU calls for sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine war.