Franco-Serbian school Vladislav Ribnikar sits quietly behind a cluster of museums, embassies, and the gilded church of St. Sava in the upscale Vračar district. Nearby villages still carry the simplicity of life found around Mladenovac, a municipality south of the capital. Yet since May, Vračar and Mladenovac have shared a common thread of trauma. Two shooters and unrelated allegations sparked dramatic scenes of fear, claiming the lives of 19 people. Serbia has seen unusual events ignite protests that demanded change, marking the largest citizen movement since the 1990s, while the national government led by nationalist Aleksandar Vučić and his Serbian Progressive Party faced the critical glare of the crowd. The upheaval has spotlighted a democratic crisis and set the stage for early parliamentary elections scheduled for this Sunday.
“Serbia is against violence.” That message framed the rallying cry of a broad opposition alliance, now echoed on posters across the city. The country, home to 6.5 million voters, faces the lingering wounds from the violent break with Yugoslavia and the ongoing dispute with Kosovo. Kosovo declared independence in 2008, a move Belgrade has never recognized. This tension sits alongside a growing demand for social justice, democratic reforms, and civil liberties. Amid real anxiety, the scenario played out as NATO and the European Union maintain a strong foothold in a nation that also seeks eventual European Union membership.
In this climate of existential and political strain, Serbia prepares to elect 250 deputies to form the next Parliament, the body responsible for naming the government. The challenge is clear: move from the past, where Vučić evolved from a moderate nationalist youth to a leader wielding considerable domestic power and a balancing act between Russia and the West abroad, toward a less certain future.
bored
The current contest is shaped not only by international issues, including the Gaza and Ukraine conflicts, but also by Vučić’s efforts to solidify control as he faces mounting pressure. Although the president is not a candidate on the parliamentary ballot, he has participated in the campaign on a list that urged voters to support “Serbia must not stop,” while suggesting he would resign if his party lost.
Borko Stefanović, a social democratic member of parliament for Freedom and Justice, part of the broader Serbia Against Violence coalition, argues that people are tired of violence and corruption. He points to the concentration of power in a single figure who dominates state institutions and media, inflation that ranks among Europe’s highest, and a decades-long drift toward autocracy. Stefanović contends that the European Union linked cooperation with regional stability to Serbia’s progress, but the country cannot endure this status quo any longer. What Serbia needs, he says, is normalization—an administration unconnected to organized crime.
The path to change remains lengthy, according to analysts. The ruling SNS party counts about 700,000 members, roughly ten percent of the population, and has relied on a strategy where employment is tied to political support. As one observer notes, the party’s approach has sustained its dominance for years: a voter who stays away risks losing work. Reported testimonies, including those of a cancer patient pressured to vote for the party to secure treatment in a public hospital, underscore concerns about coercion in the electoral process.
partly free
Not everyone shares the same view, but Transparency International records show Serbia posting the worst corruption metrics in a decade for 2023. Freedom House describes the country’s current status as partly free. Opponents of Vučić—across pro-European and some pro-Russian right-wing factions—accuse the president of maintaining power through media domination, including television channels that rarely air critical viewpoints. The accusation of authoritarian tendencies has become a common refrain among critics.
A broader geopolitical thread runs through the discussion. Whoever wins the election faces a landscape where Turkey remains a partner, while Kosovo remains a fragile flashpoint with NATO forces recently reinforced due to renewed violence. The opposition frequently criticizes the relationship with Vladimir Putin, arguing that Serbia is entangled in a complicated balance between Moscow and Brussels, with the country’s future uncertain no matter the outcome of the vote.