Vuτςiτς is running for a second five-year term with promises of peace and stability at a time of Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has put Serbia under Western pressure to choose between its traditional ties with Moscow and its ambitions to join the European Union. Union (EU). Polls for Serbia’s estimated 6.5 million constituencies opened at 05:00 GMT and will close at 18:00 GMT. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Polls show Vucic, a conservative, on the verge of victory in the first round, ahead of Zdravko Ponos, a retired general who is a candidate for the pro-European and centrist Alliance for Victory coalition. “I expect Vucic to win. He has shown that he is capable of running the country,” Zorica Jovanovic, a retiree, told Reuters after the vote. “If it were not for him, we would not have enough vaccines for COVID-19.” A Faktor Plus poll published in the daily Blic on Wednesday showed the SNS winning by 53.6% of the vote. The Victory Alliance was second with 13.7% and Vucic’s coalition partner, the Socialists, was third with 10.2%. A group of environmentalists would get 4.7% of the vote, above the 3% threshold required to win seats in parliament, the poll showed. The opposition largely boycotted the 2020 parliamentary elections, allowing the SNS and its allies to secure 188 seats in the 250-seat parliament. “There is always hope that the election will bring a change,” said Ferrick, who declined to give his last name after voting early in the morning. SHADOW OF WAR Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24th had a major impact on the campaign in Serbia, which is still recovering from the Balkan wars and isolation of the 1990s. Serbia is almost entirely dependent on Russian gas, while its army maintains ties with the Russian army. The Kremlin also supports Belgrade ‘s opposition to the independence of Kosovo, Serbia’ s predominantly Albanian former southern province. Although Serbia has backed two UN resolutions condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it has refused to impose sanctions on Moscow. Bojan Clark, head of the CeSID poll, said the war had forced the main themes of the campaign, such as corruption, the environment and the rule of law. “The electorate is now seeking answers to their concerns about economic stability, living standards and political stability,” Clark told Reuters earlier this week. A veteran politician who served as intelligence minister in 1998 under former strongman Slobodan Milosevic, Vuτςiτς had gone from being a nationalist arsonist to a supporter of EU membership, but also of military neutrality and ties with Russia and China. Ponos accused Vuτςiτς of using the war in Ukraine in his campaign to try to exploit people’s fears. Opposition and rights watchdogs also accuse Vucic and his allies of authoritarian rule, corruption, nepotism, media control, attacks on political opponents and links to organized crime. Vuτςiτς and his allies have repeatedly denied this. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Aleksandar Vasovic. Editing by Alex Richardson and Jacqueline Wong Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
