2026 Serbian local elections

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.^[4]

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 councillors 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 in their order on the electoral list, starting with the first candidate from an electoral list. When the councillors of a local assembly are sworn in, they in turn elect the mayor.^[4]

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.^[4]

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.^[4] To vote, a person has to be a citizen and resident of Serbia and at least 18 years old.^[4] A voter could only vote in the municipality of their residence.^[4] 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.^[4]

Bor

Coalition SNS-SPS-SRS-SNP won 19 seats, while the list "Bor, our responsibility" won 15 seats and VNS one seat. On the list "Bor, our responsibility" there were some local politicians, movements and organizations supported by Serbian Student Movement. They won at 16 places, most of urban polling stations in Bor. However, coalition between Serbian Progressive Party, Socialist Party of Serbia, Serbian Radical Party and Serbian People's Party secured much better results in rural parts of the city and in villages, which make a difference in final results.^[5] During the elections, multiple obstructions and physical attacks on journalists, students, lawyers were documented.^[6]. Because of that many European movements and political parties criticized election proccess. European Democratic Party pointed out that "When violence protects power, elections are no longer free"^[7]