Vucic Signs Decree Setting Election for October 25
President Aleksandar Vucic signed the decree dissolving parliament and called elections for October 25 at noon, with legal deadlines starting once the decision is published in the Official Gazette.
Aleksandar Vucic signed the decree dissolving the National Assembly today at exactly noon, speaking from the Presidency building, and issued the decision calling early parliamentary elections for Sunday, October 25. Until yesterday we had reported that the decree remained unsigned and that the formal deadline expired on September 10, so the president acted a day earlier than he was required to.
“On the reasoned proposal of the Government, I am issuing a decree dissolving the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, and this decree takes effect on the day of its publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia. I am issuing a decision calling elections for members of parliament for October 25,” Vucic said.
The dissolved assembly is the one elected in the December 17, 2023 elections. Both acts rest on a reasoned proposal from Serbia’s Government, adopted at a session on September 7, in which Prime Minister Djuro Macut, as reported by the Government, proposed to the president that parliament be dissolved and early elections called. The proposal’s explanation states that electoral conditions have improved further in the period since the December 2023 elections, taking into account recommendations from the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
Both acts take effect on the day they are published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, and only from that day do all statutory election deadlines begin to run. Once the decree is signed, the Republic Election Commission (RIK) takes over responsibility for conducting all election activities.
“The decision calling the elections takes effect on the day of its publication in the Official Gazette, when all election deadlines also begin to run,” Vucic said.
Why October 25
The law requires that at least 45 and at most 60 days pass between the day elections are called and election day. From September 9 to October 25 is 46 days, so the president picked a date right at the bottom of that range. That means the campaign will run for 45 days, the legal minimum.
As the reason for the urgency, Vucic pointed to the upcoming Expo and, as he put it, the survival of the democratic order.
“Any delay would jeopardize both the Expo, I would say, and the survival of democracy as the best form of political system in our country,” the president said.
The deadline for submitting electoral lists is October 4, and a list must be backed by at least 10,000 voter signatures, notarized before that deadline at a notary public, a municipal or city administration, or a basic court in places where there is no notary. Compared with earlier election cycles, the new rule is that a single voter may now put their signature behind more than one electoral list.
Part of the answer to who will actually run is already known. The Serbian Progressive Party’s Main Board decided unanimously on Saturday, at a session in Nis, that the party will run under the list “Aleksandar Vucic, United Serbia,” with Vucic as list holder and candidate for prime minister.
Call for a Peaceful Campaign
The president framed the coming campaign around a message of tolerance for differing views.
“It is important that we respect differing political opinions, the right to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression,” Vucic said.
He closed his address by adding:
“I wish all citizens of Serbia good health, and a democratic, peaceful and successful campaign.”
Until a new assembly is constituted, the dissolved parliament operates with a limited scope of work. The next step in the election calendar is the publication of both acts in the Official Gazette, which formally starts the deadlines, followed by the October 4 deadline for submitting electoral lists.
