Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic calls snap parliamentary elections for October 25

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced today that he had signed a decree dissolving the National Assembly and issued a decision calling snap parliamentary elections for Sunday, October 25.

Addressing the public from the Presidency building, Vucic stressed that he had made the decision in accordance with his constitutional powers, following a reasoned proposal from the Serbian government, Insajder reports.

The decision calling the elections takes effect on the day it is published in the Official Gazette, when all election deadlines also begin to run. By signing the decree, the Republic Election Commission (REC) assumes responsibility for conducting all election-related procedures.

Vucic previously said during an appearance on RTS on Tuesday that snap parliamentary elections in Serbia would be held on October 25, adding that he had received a proposal from the government to dissolve the National Assembly and that he was expected to issue a decree dissolving parliament, as well as a decision calling the elections.

Under the law, at least 45 and no more than 60 days must pass between the calling of the elections and election day.

At a session held in Nis on Saturday, the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) Main Board unanimously decided that the party would run in the upcoming elections with the electoral list “Aleksandar Vucic – United Serbia,” that Aleksandar Vucic would head the list, and that he would be the SNS candidate for prime minister.

Following its September 7 session, the Serbian government announced that it had adopted a proposal to dissolve the Assembly and forwarded it to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, asking him to dissolve the Assembly and call snap parliamentary elections.

In the rationale for the decision, Prime Minister Djuro Macut stated, according to a government press release, that in the period following the December 17, 2023 elections, political actors interested in the matter had been given the opportunity to submit proposals for further improving electoral conditions and election legislation in Serbia.

He assessed that, taking into account the views expressed, and particularly the recommendations of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), electoral conditions in Serbia had been further and significantly improved.