2025 Serbian local elections

2025 Serbian local elections

8 June 2025 July-November 2025

Results of 2025 Serbian local elections:   We Won't Give Up Serbia   TBD

Local elections were held in the city of Zaječar and the municipality of Kosjerić on 8 June 2025. Local elections will also be held in the municipality of Mionica and Negotin sometime between 27 July and 30 November.

Background

The last local elections in the city of Zaječar and the municipality of Kosjerić took place on 28 March 2021. The majority in Zaječar’s City Assembly was formed by Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS). While in Kosjerić SNS won with 68.78% of the popular vote. These elections are the first elections to take place in Serbia after the ongoing political crisis caused by the Novi Sad railway station canopy collapse and the student protests that followed in.

The protests contributed to stronger citizen organization and the formation of a more serious opposition alternative in local elections, which led to the government intensifying its use of state resources, as well as other forms of electoral manipulation, with strong media support from national media for local government lists. Local elections may also be a test of cooperation between the opposition and students at a higher level, in the event that the government accepts the call of the students in the blockade to call early parliamentary elections. Despite public pressure and reports of irregularities from previous elections, electoral reforms, including the revision of voter lists, have not been implemented, and institutions such as the Anti-Corruption Agency and the REM remain passive.

On 13 April, the President of the National Assembly of Serbia Ana Brnabić announced the local elections on 8 June in Zaječar and Kosjerić.

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.

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 to 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.

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.

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

Pre-election composition

City Assembly of Zaječar

Party		Seats
	SNS	24
	Nenad Ristović List	16
	SPS—JS	4
	Dragana Rašić List	4
	Dejan Krstić List	1
	Enough is Enough	1

Municipal Assembly of Kosjerić

Party		Seats
	SNS	20
	Clean People for clean Kosjerić	3
	Healthy Serbia	2
	NADA	2

Results

Zaječar

100% reporting
Party		Votes	%	Seats
	Aleksandar Vučić–We won't give up Serbia	14,199	47.96	27
	Change We Believe In – Uglješa Ðuričković – Dragana Rašić (NPS, PSG, SSP, DS, SRCE)	10,312	34.83	19
	Citizens' Group: United for Salvation of Zaječar – Miladin Krstić – Mirko Jelenković (NDSS, Dveri, EU, GG DK, GG SMIDT)	2,284	7.71	4
	Ivica Dačić – Socialist Party of Serbia – Decisively for Zaječar	896	3.03	0
	Citizens' Group: Dr. Nenad Ristović – Responsibly for Zaječar	759	2.56	0
	We – Power of the People	591	2.00	0
	Serbian liberals – Experts Should Have a Say – Vladimir Kovačević	289	0.98	0
	Coalition for Eastern Serbia - Saša Radulović Grljanac	277	0.94	0
Total		29,607	100.00	50
Valid votes		29,607	98.27
Invalid/blank votes		521	1.73
Total votes		30,128	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		47,353	63.62
Source: City electoral commission

Kosjerić

Party		Votes	%	Seats
	Aleksandar Vučić–We won't give up Serbia	3,758	50.76	14
	Citizens' Group: United for Kosjerić (NPS, NLS, ZLF, DS, EU, PSG, SRCE, GG ČLjZČK)	3,598	48.60	13
	Russian Party	48	0.65	0
Total		7,404	100.00	27
Valid votes		7,404	98.43
Invalid/blank votes		118	1.57
Total votes		7,522	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		8,897	84.55
Source: Local electoral commission

Aftermath

Zaječar

About two hours after the polls closed, the Change We Believe coalition declared victory in the local elections in Zaječar. A little later, Aleksandar Vučić declared the victory of the list We won't give up Serbia. Crta announced at the end of the day that SNS won the elections in Zaječar, but that 17% of the polling stations had recorded "the most severe forms of irregularities" and that "these results do not reflect the will of the voters". The opposition in Zaječar called for a repeat of the election.

Kosjerić

About an hour after the closing of the polls, the group of citizens United for Kosjerić declared victory in the local elections in Kosjerić. A little later, Aleksandar Vučić declared the victory of the coalition We won't give up Serbia. Crta announced that We won't give up Serbia coalition won the elections in Kosjerić by 51 votes, but that due to numerous irregularities, a repeat of the election even at just one polling station could reverse the outcome. The Republican Electoral Commission announced at the end of the day that We won't give up Serbia won.