Stefanovic Urges European Serbia to Quit the Election

Borko Stefanovic, deputy president of the Freedom and Justice Party (SSP), publicly challenged the European Serbia list’s decision to stay in the race on October 12 and urged voters to back the Student List on October 25. Stefanovic had earlier removed his name from that list, and he posted his position on his account on X. The dispute pits members of the same political camp against each other thirteen days before the vote, over whether the opposition should field more than one list.

The European Serbia coalition is made up of the Freedom and Justice Party, Serbia Centre and the Solidarity movement. The list’s full name is European Serbia, Marinika Tepic, Zdravko Ponos.

What did Stefanovic write on X?

He opened his post by saying European Serbia had missed its chance to withdraw:

The last chance for the European Serbia list to act with political responsibility and honor, and to withdraw from the election process in favor of the Student List and its victory over the criminal regime of Aleksandar Vucic, has been missed. Unfortunately, the consequences for the Freedom and Justice Party will be serious, because it is gambling with its reputation, with the years-long struggle of its people and with the future of our political option.

Stefanovic is thus warning publicly that his own party will pay for the decision. He calls the choice to run separately a mistake, and he describes the circumstances in his own words:

Insisting on taking part in the election as a separate opposition list, in these circumstances and after the failure to unite the entire opposition, is a serious mistake and a failure to understand the mood of society and the political will of the citizens of Serbia. Some people, unfortunately, looked at the wrong compass, and there is no justification for it, and any belated wisdom or accountability can be neither comfort nor justice to anyone.

He does not name the people he means by “some people.” The closing part of the post is an appeal to voters:

Now that all of Serbia is finally flowing into one river of victory and change, every tributary must pour into it, without calculation. The only interest is, and must be, that Vucic’s regime is broken and falls on October 25, and that is why we must all turn out in the largest possible numbers and support the Student List. This is the greatest historic task of our generation and we must not miss it, for the sake of the future of Serbia and all of its people.

What has European Serbia said about running?

None of the media reports that carried Stefanovic’s post include a reply, either from the European Serbia list or from the leadership of the Freedom and Justice Party. There is, however, a statement from one of the list’s leaders, made a day earlier and unrelated to this post. Zdravko Ponos appeared on October 11 on the N1 television show “Utisak nedelje” and was asked whether he was sure the decision to run was the right one. He said no election outcome is entirely certain, that he is going with what he considers right, and that he has no doubts about it:

I have no dilemma at all that I am doing the right thing.

On the same show, Ponos said that by the list’s own calculation, withdrawing would leave at least a third of its voters at home. The Student List, he said, would then have no coalition partner, an outcome he does not believe leads to winning the election.

What do the numbers say about the threshold?

The threshold is three percent. According to a September poll by the agency Faktor Plus, conducted in the field from September 16 to 20 and cited by Vreme, the Serbian Progressive Party stands at 48.6 percent, the Student List at 37.1 percent and European Serbia at 3.6 percent. That puts European Serbia only slightly above the line, and the poll is more than three weeks old.

Political consultant Dusan Milenkovic said on “Utisak nedelje” that, based on the polls he relies on, neither European Serbia nor Authentic Right can clear the threshold. Ponos and Milos Jovanovic, who leads the Authentic Right list, questioned how relevant those polls are. Jovanovic claimed his list “will certainly pass the threshold.”

A day after Ponos’s appearance, Stefanovic has openly suggested a different address to the voters of the list whose ticket he left. The election is on October 25.