2022 Serbian local elections

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2022 Serbian local elections
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Results of the local elections

Local elections in Serbia were held on 3 April 2022 in the municipalities of Aranđelovac, Bajina Bašta, Belgrade, Bor, Doljevac, Kladovo, Knjaževac, Kula, Lučani, Majdanpek, Medveđa, Sečanj, Sevojno (a municipality in the city of Užice), and Smederevska Palanka. Alongside the local elections, national-level general elections were held simultaneously on the same day.

Seven ballot lists appeared in the election in Aranđelovac, while nine ballot lists appeared in Bajina Bašta. In Belgrade, there were twelve ballot lists in total; the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) nominated Aleksandar Šapić as their mayoral candidate, while the major opposition United for the Victory of Serbia (UZPS) coalition nominated Vladeta Janković. In Bor, eleven ballot lists were present in total while parties inside the UZPS coalition ran on two separate ballot lists. Four ballot lists were present in the election in Doljevac, with no opposition parties taking part in the local election. In Kladovo, five lists appeared on the ballot, while in Knjaževac there were eight lists in total. The UZPS coalition also ran on two separate lists in Kula, where the leader of a civic group claimed that bribery occurred during the collection of signatures. Five ballot lists appeared in the election in Lučani and seven in Majdanpek, where electoral irregularities were reported at voting stations. Seven ballot lists appeared in the election in Medveđa, while in Sečanj there were four lists on the ballot. In Sevojno, six lists appeared on the ballot, while in Smederevska Palanka there were seven lists in total, with the UZPS coalition again running on two separate lists.

SNS won the most votes in all local elections.[1][2] In Belgrade, the election was repeated at five voting stations on 16 April and again on 21 April due to the UZPS coalition and Social Democratic Party (SDS) objecting the results at those polling stations. SDS did not manage to cross the threshold after the repeat elections, and in June, Šapić was elected mayor of Belgrade.

Previous local elections in Serbia were held in March and October 2021, in which the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) won a majority of seats in most of the municipalities.[3][4] Electoral irregularities had occurred at voting stations, and there had also been physical attacks on opposition activists.[4][5] Dialogues between the opposition and ruling parties regarding electoral conditions were held from May to October 2021.[6][7] The two groups signed a document on 29 October, which included changes to the required minimum of collected signatures for minority ballots and changes to the composition of the Regulatory Body of Electronic Media (REM) and Republic Electoral Commission (RIK).[8][9] The environmental protests, which began in September 2021,[10] grew in size due to the adoption of modifications to the law on referendum and people's initiative and the expropriation law in November 2021.[11][12] The modifications to the law on referendums and people's initiatives abolished the 50% threshold that was needed for referendums to pass into law.[13] The protests lasted until February 2022.[14] In Belgrade, the protests helped the We Must coalition to gain more support in opinion polls.[15] A constitutional referendum regarding the judiciary also took place in January 2022, in which the "yes" option, which was supported by the government, prevailed over the "no" option, although the turnout was reported to be at 30 per cent.[16][17]

Electoral system

Local elections in Serbia are held under a proportional representation system. Eligible voters vote for electoral lists, on which the registered candidates are present. An electoral list could be submitted by a registered political party, a coalition of political parties, or a citizens' group. The number of valid signatures needed to be collected to take part in the election varies by the number of eligible voters in that municipality. At least 40 percent of candidates on electoral lists must be female. The electoral list is submitted by its chosen ballot representative, who does not have to be present on its electoral list. An electoral list could be declined, after which those who had submitted can fix the deficiencies in a span of 48 hours, or rejected, if the person is not authorised to nominate candidates. The name and date of the election, the names of the electoral lists and its ballot representatives, and information on how to vote are only present on the voting ballot.[18]

Local electoral commissions and polling boards oversee the election. Seats are allocated with an electoral threshold of 3 percent of all votes cast, however if no electoral list wins 3 percent of all votes cast, then all electoral lists that received votes can participate in the distribution of seats. The seats are distributed by electoral lists in proportion to the number of votes received, while the number of seats belonging to electoral lists is determined by applying the highest quotient system. The seats are distributed by dividing the total number of votes received by the electoral list participating in the distribution of seats by each number from one to the number of councilors the local assembly has. The obtained quotients are classified by size so that the electoral list has as many mandates as it has its quotients among the highest quotients of all the electoral lists participating in the distribution. If two or more electoral lists receive the same quotients on the basis of which the seat is distributed, the electoral list that received the greater number of votes has priority. The seats in the local assemblies are awarded to the candidates to their order on the electoral list, starting with the first candidate from an electoral list. When the councilors of a local assembly are sworn in, they in turn elect the mayor.[18]

An electoral list could be declared the status of an ethnic minority electoral list by the local electoral commission. An ethnic minority electoral list could be only submitted by a registered political party or a coalition of political parties of an ethnic minority. If the percentage of the members of that ethnic minority is less than 50% in that municipality, an electoral list could be then granted the status of an ethnic minority electoral list. If the electoral list receives less than the 3 percent electoral threshold of all votes cast, it would still take part in the distribution of seats. When the distribution of seats takes place, the quotients of ethnic minority electoral lists that won less than 3 percent of the votes are increased by 35 percent.[18]

Any local election, whether it is a municipal or a local assembly election, is called by the president of the National Assembly, who also has to announce its date.[18] To vote, a person has to be a citizen and resident of Serbia and at least 18 years old.[18] A voter could only vote in the municipality of their residence.[18] Election silence begins two days before the scheduled election, during which time no opinion polls, presentation of candidates and their programmes, or invitation to vote in the election could take place.[18]

Results and campaign

Aftermath

References

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