2025 Serbian local elections
Local elections in Serbia were held in the city of Zaječar and the municipality of Kosjerić on 8 June 2025.
On 13 April the President of the National Assembly of Serbia Ana Brnabić announced the local elections on 8 June.[1]
Background
[edit]The last local elections in the city of Zaječar and the municipality of Kosjerić took place on 28 March 2021.[1] The majority in Zaječar’s City Assembly was formed by Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS).[2] While in Kosjerić the Progressive Party made it to 68,78% of the popular vote.[3] 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.[4] 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.[5]
Electoral system
[edit]Pre-election composition
[edit]| Party | Seats | |
|---|---|---|
| SNS | 24 | |
| Nenad Ristović List | 16 | |
| SPS | 4 | |
| Dragana Rašić List | 4 | |
| Dejan Krstić List | 1 | |
| DJB | 1 | |
| Party | Seats | |
|---|---|---|
| SNS | 20 | |
| Clean People for clean Kosjerić | 3 | |
| Healthy Serbia | 2 | |
| NADA | 2 | |
Results
[edit]| # | List | Leader of the list | Votes | % | Seats | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Vladimir Videnović | 14.199 | 27 | ||
| 2 | Goran Klačević | 10.312 | 19 | |||
| 3 | Dr. Dejan Krstić | 2.284 | 4 | |||
| 4 | Citizen Gruop Dr. Nenad Ristović – Domaćinski za Zaječar | Nenad Ristović | 759 | 0 | ||
| 5 |
|
Aleksandar Diković | 896 | 0 | ||
| 6 | М |
|
Saša Radulović | |||
| 7 |
|
Luka Vojvodić | 591 | 0 | ||
| 8 |
|
Dragan Ðorđević | ||||
| Total | 50 | |||||
| Valid votes | ||||||
| Invalid votes | ||||||
| Total votes | ||||||
| Registered voters and turnout | 47.353 | 60.0 | ||||
М — national minority list
| # | List | Leader of the list | Votes | % | Seats | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Žarko Đokić | 3686 | 49,23 | 14 | ||
| 2 | M |
|
Živorad Vićentijević | 48 | 0,64 | 0 |
| 3 | Dragana Perišić | 3635 | 48,54 | 13 | ||
| Total | 7369 | 100 | 27 | |||
| Valid votes | 7369 | 98,41 | ||||
| Invalid votes | 119 | 1,59 | ||||
| Total votes | 7489 | 100 | ||||
| Registered voters and turnout | 8.897 | 84,17 | ||||
M — national minority list
Aftermath
[edit]Zaječar
[edit]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 Ne damo Srbiju.[6] 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".[7] The opposition in Zaječar called for a repeat of the election.[8]
Kosjerić
[edit]About an hour after the closing of the polls, the group of citizens United for Kosjerić declared victory in the local elections in Kosjerić.[9] A little later, Aleksandar Vučić declared the victory of the coalition Ne damo Srbiju.[6] Crta announced that the Ne damo 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.[8] The Republican Electoral Commission announced at the end of the day that Ne damo Serbia won.
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Brnabić raspisala izbore za odbornike u Zaječaru i Kosjeriću za 8. jun". N1 (in Serbian). 2025-04-13. Retrieved 2025-06-09.
- ^ media, autor: Za. "SNS pobedio na lokalnim izborima u Zaječaru (VIDEO)". ZA media (in Serbian). Retrieved 2025-06-09.
- ^ "Општина Косјерић | Добро дошли - Избори 2021". kosjeric.rs (in Serbian). Archived from the original on 2021-06-03. Retrieved 2025-06-09.
- ^ Martinović, Iva; Manojlović, Mila (2025-05-08). "Lokalni izbori u Kosjeriću i Zaječaru: Prvi test rejtinga vlasti od početka krize u Srbiji". Radio Slobodna Evropa (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 2025-06-09.
- ^ Komarčević, Dušan; Cvetković, Ljudmila (2025-06-03). "Zašto su dva grada u Srbiji trenutno popularne destinacije državnih zvaničnika?". Radio Slobodna Evropa (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 2025-06-09.
- ^ a b Nova.rs (2025-06-08). "BLOG Vučić proglasio pobedu na izborima, opozicija isto, u Kosjeriću prebrojani glasovi: "Kreću rokovi za žalbe"". NOVA portal (in Serbian). Retrieved 2025-06-09.
- ^ "Raša Nedeljkov (CRTA): U Zaječaru SNS 27 mandata, a opozicija 23, ali - rezultati ne odražavaju volju birača - Politika - Dnevni list Danas" (in Serbian). 2025-06-08. Retrieved 2025-06-09.
- ^ a b "Pejić: U Kosjeriću mogu da budu zadovoljni i vlast i opozicija; Vranić: Izbori neizvesni kada postoji kampanja". РТС (in Serbian). Retrieved 2025-06-09.
- ^ Nova.rs (2025-06-08). ""Ujedinjeni za Kosjerić" proglasila pobedu: "Odrali smo ih", kaže Vladan Todorović". NOVA portal (in Serbian). Retrieved 2025-06-09.