Vucic Offers Both Elections, Opposition Calls It a Duty
President Vucic frames splitting the parliamentary and presidential votes as a concession, while the opposition insists calling elections is a constitutional obligation and demands a firm date and equal terms.
- President Aleksandar Vucic announced on July 12 that parliamentary elections would be held first and presidential elections afterward, presenting the split as a favor to the opposition.
- He says the decision to call the vote will come in August or September, with balloting in October or November.
- The opposition replies that calling elections is not a concession but a constitutional duty, noting the vote has been delayed for 15 months.
- They demand a firm date, a clear list of offices on the ballot, and equal campaign time for all sides.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced on July 12 that the next electoral cycle would be split, with parliamentary elections held first and the presidential vote to follow. He presented the move as a concession to the opposition, saying he was giving it “both elections.” He had made a similar announcement a few days earlier, around July 10, so the twelfth confirmed the direction rather than breaking new ground.
Vucic also sketched a rough calendar. He said the decision to call the elections would come in August or September, with voters heading to the polls in October or November. In other words, autumn is the electoral horizon, but there is no fixed date binding all sides.
Why does the opposition reject the word “concession”?
The response from opposition ranks was swift and nearly unanimous on one point: calling elections is not a gift from those in power. Aris Movsesijan of the Free Citizens Movement argued that going to the polls is not a concession but a constitutional obligation and a basic mechanism of democracy. That reframing pulls the split from the level of a generous gesture down to the level of routine procedure the president is required to carry out anyway.
Other figures added their own emphasis. Zdravko Ponos warned that timing is not the core problem, but rather the conditions of the vote, above all what he calls electoral fraud. Borislav Novakovic described the election statements as “trial balloons,” suggesting the promises could easily be withdrawn if the political math changes. Aleksandar Marton of the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina recalled that Vucic has been postponing the vote for 15 months, and that each new announcement serves to keep him at the center of attention.
There is a clear logic behind these reactions. If calling elections is a duty, then the president cannot pick the moment as a bargaining chip, nor charge for splitting the vote as though offering a discount. That is why the opposition refuses a frame in which a routine democratic act is sold as an act of mercy.
What does the opposition want before accepting a calendar?
The demands are concrete and center on predictability. The opposition wants all actors to know the date in advance and which offices are on the ballot, so that campaigning does not begin in a fog. It also insists on equal campaign time, meaning that no side should have privileged access to voters and the media.
The heart of the dispute is not whether there will be elections, but under what conditions and on whose schedule. Vucic offers the split as his move and his decision. The opposition answers that the date is an obligation and a fair campaign a right, and that neither should depend on the goodwill of one side.
One key question remains open heading into autumn. Will calling the elections be carried out as a constitutional duty, with a firm date and equal terms, or will it stay a matter of negotiation in which the act of voting itself is presented as a concession?
