Polling stations in Serbia opened at 07:00 and close at 20:00. In the race for 250 parliamentary mandates, 18 lists with a total of 2,418 candidates are competing, and 6,450,523 voters are eligible to vote. The Croatian minority community has no candidate in these elections.
Turnout during the day was significantly higher than in previous elections. According to estimates by Ipsos and CeSida, 46.4 per cent of registered voters had turned out by 14:00, which is more than 14 per cent higher than in 2023, when 32.2 per cent of voters had voted by 14:00. The organisation CRTA estimated that 41.1 per cent of citizens with the right to vote had turned out by 13:00, with a margin of error of plus-minus 0.9 per cent, while in December 2023, 26.6 per cent of voters had turned out by 13:00.
The Republic Election Commission announced that turnout was 34.55 per cent by 12:00, while in the previous elections in December 2023, 21.33 per cent of voters had voted by 12:00. An Ipsos estimate based on a sample of 750 polling stations showed that 27.2 per cent of voters had voted by 11:00, while in the previous elections, turnout by 11:00 was 15.1 per cent. According to the RIK estimate, turnout was 19.72 per cent by 10:00.
Incidents
The day was also marked by incidents. A group of masked men attacked several young men in front of a polling station near the Agricultural School in Pančevo, and footage shows one young man’s face bleeding from a blow. He and several other young men were attacked on the street in front of the school where the polling station is located by a group of men in black clothing, with hoods over their heads and masks on their faces. Police went to the scene, but the incident was not reported, and police officers learned about it from the media.
Lawyer and election observer Predrag Jovanović told N1 that he and a colleague were attacked by three men. According to him, they beat them with sticks, and one of the attackers pulled out a pistol, racked it and said "shoot". Jovanović escaped by fleeing into a passing car. As he said, as an election observer, he went to Zvezdara in Belgrade, near the Inge stadium, after receiving information that a person had been beaten there. He arrived at the scene with fellow lawyer Nikola Miladinović and found an injured person whom he claims had been beaten. He intended to call the police, but at that moment, three men armed with sticks appeared. One of the attackers had a baseball bat, and another had a metal golf club. Jovanović showed his accreditation, but the attackers went for him and his colleague. They began to retreat after receiving several blows to the head, hands and legs. The third attacker pulled out a pistol, pointed it at him and said "shoot". Jovanović heard the racking sound, turned around and began to run. At that moment, a car stopped and the driver told them to get in.
Media ban and arrest
The Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) banned television station N1 and other media from following election night at its headquarters. The decision to ban followed N1’s refusal to have Aleksandar Vučić present the SNS list. The biggest challenge to SNS, according to available information, will be the Student List - Students Win.
Nikola Medenica has been arrested, who today attacked Angelina Vučić, Aleksandar Vučić’s mother. The attacker was detained for robbery. The duty prosecutor ordered a 48-hour detention in relation to M. N. (1998) on suspicion of having committed the criminal offence of robbery under Article 206 of the Penal Code. Within the specified period, the suspect will be interrogated, after which a decision on further proceedings will be made. Angelina Vučić was allegedly attacked on Sunday morning in central Belgrade, after voting in the early parliamentary elections. The incident occurred near the polling station where she had previously voted. Informer reports that she was verbally and physically attacked by a group of people, described as opponents of Aleksandar Vučić, and her bag of groceries was stolen. Informer claims that the case was reported to the police and that an investigation is underway to determine the circumstances of the alleged incident. SNS condemned the alleged attack, claiming that Angelina Vučić was exposed to physical and verbal violence. Information about the attack so far comes from the pro-government tabloid Informer and SNS statements, while independent confirmation of the circumstances of the incident is not available. There are no independently confirmed information about the identity of the alleged attackers or evidence that would confirm claims about their connection.
Decision on aircraft
The Directorate of Civil Aviation of the Republic of Serbia decided to allow small aircraft to take off from certain Serbian airports and outside their working hours. The decision was published on the social network X by Srđan Milivojević, president of the Democratic Party. The decision came into force on Sunday and applies to airports in Niš, Vršac, Kraljevo and Kragujevac, as well as the Ponikve and Rosulje airfields near Kruševac.
