Irregularities in the 2026 elections

Category: Elections, media and institutions

Period: Aug 2026 – 26 Oct 2026

Outcome: Under investigation (as of 2 Nov 2026)

International observers judged that the snap parliamentary election of 25 October 2026 was held on a seriously uneven playing field: the ruling party misused public resources and put pressure on voters. CRTA recorded more than 650 cases of abuse of office and more than 250 cases in which support was extorted through jobs or welfare benefits, and on election day journalists, observers and members of the Student List's mobile teams were attacked. The Student List won. Prosecutors are making arrests over vote buying and fake residence registrations, and the Prosecutor's Office for Organised Crime is examining criminal complaints against the director of the BIA and the justice minister.

The campaign and the observers' assessment

Aleksandar Vučić called the elections on 9 September in his capacity as president, and after resigning on 27 September he led the “Aleksandar Vučić – United Serbia” list. International observers found that the ruling party enjoyed entrenched advantages, including serious misuse of public resources, along with intimidation of and pressure on voters, allegations of pressure on public-sector employees and of vote buying, and heavily biased media, among them the public broadcaster. Radoičić's appearance at an SNS rally in Kragujevac and Vučić's rally in Valjevo are covered in the affairs “Banjska” and “Police violence in Valjevo”.

Monitoring by the Press Council recorded 1,474 breaches of the Journalists' Code of Ethics during the campaign, in 575 articles in nine daily newspapers, most of them in Alo, Kurir, Srpski telegraf and Informer.

Pressure on employees

CRTA recorded more than 650 abuses of office and more than 250 cases, most often in public enterprises, in which jobs or social assistance were used to extort support. Employees of the Republic Geodetic Authority and the Tax Administration say they were asked for "secure" and capillary votes under threat of transfer or of their contracts not being renewed. At the Belgrade Fair, 59 employees say they were appointed to polling boards without their knowledge, on the proposal of organisations close to the SNS.

Questions have been raised again about the voter register from the 2023 elections: according to records of the Ministry of Public Administration, 147 voters were registered in a building of some thirty flats on Kraljevića Marka Street. In Vienna, the Association of Serbs in Austria, which is close to the SNS, allegedly registered voters in breach of the law, and the Vienna police reported this to prosecutors.

Election day and the attack in Ub

CRTA recorded photographing of ballots, which points to controlled voting, at almost half of the polling stations it observed. Journalists were attacked in Pavlovac near Vranje, observers in Zemun and Zvezdara, members of the Student List's mobile teams in Kragujevac and in Novo Naselje in Novi Sad, and bikers in Niš and Hrtkovci; OSCE observers said the violence caused serious concern.

On the night after the election, around 15 men attacked citizens and students in Ub who were celebrating the Student List's victory and, according to the Nova.rs portal, seriously injured two people; the Basic Public Prosecutor's Office in Ub questioned 13 suspects over violent behaviour, and ten of them were remanded in custody for up to 30 days (“Attack on the Student List's victory celebration in Ub”).

Complaints and prosecution cases

Prosecutors had two local residents arrested over the attack on journalists in Pavlovac; after questioning, one was kept in custody and the other was released. In Niš, the prosecutor's office sought detention of up to 30 days for the eight people arrested over the attack on bikers; students are also demanding that those who ordered it be found. The Third Basic Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade opened cases on all 16 complaints from New Belgrade, Zemun and Surčin, and the Niš prosecutor's office opened a case over threats against citizens in Pukovac near Doljevac. The Belgrade Bar Association is demanding that the people who attacked lawyers in Zvezdara be identified.

The Basic Public Prosecutor's Office in Aleksinac opened a case over alleged vote buying for the Justice and Reconciliation Party in the village of Glogovica and handed it over to the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Niš.

Vote buying and residence registrations

The Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade dismissed three vote-buying complaints because the police found no evidence. The Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad had four people arrested on 2 November on suspicion of buying votes for the "United Serbia" list; according to the prosecutors, three of them confessed, and 6,000 dinars was paid per vote. In Čačak, the prosecutor's office is examining allegations of vote buying and of the destruction of documents.

On the orders of the same prosecutor's office, six employees of the municipal administration and the police station in Mali Zvornik were also arrested that day, on suspicion that in 2025 they took money to let citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina register residence in Serbia so they could vote. One of them is also suspected of using municipal vehicles to travel to "Ćacilend".

Prisons and new complaints

Lawyer Ivan Ninić filed a criminal complaint with the Prosecutor's Office for Organised Crime against 63 people who, he says, collected capillary votes for the SNS in prisons, led by Justice Minister Nenad Vujić, and against eight members of the BIA, led by its director Vladimir Orlić. Cases have been opened on both complaints.

Srđan Milivojević filed a complaint with the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office against Informer and Tanjug over the first results on election night. The prosecutor's office ordered the arrest of the pardoned Gorski Matović, whose group threatened the Student List team. The Medijana municipality filed a complaint against Niš Mayor Dragoslav Pavlović over the stage for an SNS rally, and the Niš prosecutor's office is looking into a payment of 25 million dinars to the Konstantin club.

The call centre and the arrest at Zabela

An SNS call centre was allegedly operating in Zabela prison in Požarevac on election day. On 6 November the prosecutor's office in Kraljevo arrested the prison governor, Rodoljub Rončević, whom the Interior Ministry suspects of ordering that confiscated cigarettes and coffee be handed out to convicted prisoners so they would vote for list number 1; he was then reportedly remanded in custody.

Results and the votes in Aleksinac

After the repeat vote at 53 polling stations on 1 November, the Republic Electoral Commission announced the final results on 5 November: the Student List won 140 seats, "United Serbia" 103 and minority lists seven; 4,444,310 of 6,451,292 registered voters turned out. Vučić conceded defeat on election night ("Ćacilend"), and on 29 October he said he had discussed it with senior police officers, rejecting a report in the Times that he had considered using force.

According to CRTA, the repeat vote won a seat for Usame Zukorlić's Justice and Reconciliation Party, which the final results confirmed. CRTA cites vote buying for the SPP in Aleksinac, while Electoral Commission member Ivan Šebek points to jumps at five polling stations, 277 more votes than on 25 October, and wants prosecutors and the police to investigate them. The party rejects the allegations.

Participants

Aleksandar Vučić: According to ODIHR, as president he sent a letter to all pensioners in the middle of the campaign, which was alleged to be campaign material (responsible)
Serbian Progressive Party: State employees collected capillary votes for the SNS under threat of losing their jobs (responsible)
Government of the Republic of Serbia: According to ODIHR, election contestants see the late-August decision on payments of nearly a billion euros to citizens as a misuse of state resources (responsible)
Republic Geodetic Authority: Employees' contract renewals were made conditional on “secure votes” for the SNS, and refusal was punished with the threat of transfer (responsible)
Tax Administration of the Republic of Serbia: Employees were allegedly pressured, under threat of dismissal or transfer, to collect capillary votes for the SNS (responsible)
Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government: According to ODIHR, it did not publicly explain the large number of registered voters, and told observers these were politically biased claims (commented on the case)
Radio Television of Serbia (RTS): According to ODIHR, contrary to its public-service obligations, it favoured the “United Serbia” list; according to CRTA, the authorities had 94% of prime time (responsible)
Republic Electoral Commission: According to CRTA, the majority of the extended membership made decisions protecting the interests of a single side, and lists suspected of being fake were also declared (responsible)
Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia: According to CRTA, it was sometimes slow to protect opposition candidates in danger, while it put Student List activists under surveillance and detained them (responsible)
Vladimir Dimitrijević: He described the intrusion in Doljevac as a brief incident; on 28 October he chaired the session of the Republic Electoral Commission that ordered a repeat vote (commented on the case)
Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (until 2020 the Anti-Corruption Agency): According to observers, the handling of complaints about abuse of public office was not transparent enough (oversight and the public)
Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade, Special Department for Combating Corruption: On election day, it announced that there were no grounds for proceedings on three reports of vote-buying, because police had found no evidence (responsible)
Basic Public Prosecutor's Office in Pančevo: It described the attack by masked men outside the polling station as a brawl whose participants are being identified (investigation and courts)
OSCE/ODIHR (Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights): It found that the level playing field of the campaign had been seriously undermined, with severe misuse of resources and pressure on voters (oversight and the public)
CRTA (Centre for Research, Transparency and Accountability): It recorded more than 650 abuses of public office and ballots being photographed at 48% of polling stations (oversight and the public)
Transparency Serbia: It described the announcement of higher salaries as officials' campaigning and estimated SNS advertising at €7.7 million (oversight and the public)
BIRN: Published testimonies about pressure to vote for the SNS at the Geodetic Authority and the Tax Administration (oversight and the public)
Basic Public Prosecutor's Office in Vranje: According to Južne vesti, it ordered one suspect in the Pavlovac attack held in custody and released the other (investigation and courts)
Third Basic Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade: Opened cases on all 16 reports from election day; a trade union filed a complaint over suspected bribery (investigation and courts)
Belgrade Bar Association: Called for the identification of the attackers who beat lawyers with bats in Zvezdara (oversight and the public)
Basic Public Prosecutor's Office in Niš: It opened a case over threats against citizens in Pukovac and sought detention for eight suspects over the attacks on bikers in Niš (investigation and courts)
Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad: It arrested four people over vote buying in Novi Sad and six employees in Mali Zvornik over registering voters from Bosnia and Herzegovina (investigation and courts)
Basic Public Prosecutor's Office in Aleksinac: Opened a case over alleged vote buying for the SPP list at polling station 74 in Glogovica and referred it to the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Niš (investigation and courts)
Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Niš: It opened cases over vote buying in Glogovica and over the payment of 25 million dinars to the club “Konstantin”, and requested information from the police (investigation and courts)
Party of Justice and Reconciliation: Votes were allegedly bought for its list in the repeat vote in Aleksinac; prosecutors have opened a case, and the party denies it (responsible)
Mali Zvornik Municipality: The Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad suspects that staff in its administration registered false residences for citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina for money in 2025 so they could vote (responsible)
Alo: According to the Press Council, it breached the Journalists' Code 422 times during the election campaign, the most of the nine daily newspapers monitored (responsible)
Kurir: According to the Press Council, it breached the Journalists' Code 383 times during the election campaign, the second-highest number of the nine daily newspapers monitored (responsible)
Srpski telegraf: According to the Press Council, it breached the Journalists' Code 276 times during the election campaign, the third-highest number of the nine daily newspapers monitored (responsible)
Informer: According to the Press Council, it breached the Journalists' Code 209 times during the election campaign, the fourth-highest number of the nine daily newspapers monitored (responsible)
Press Council: Its monitoring of daily newspapers recorded 1,474 breaches of the journalists' code of ethics in 575 articles during the campaign (oversight and the public)
Ivan Ninić: He reported 63 people from the prison service and eight from the Security Information Agency (BIA) to the Prosecutor's Office for Organised Crime over what he claims were capillary votes for the SNS; prosecutors opened cases on both complaints (oversight and the public)
Rodoljub Rončević: He is suspected of ordering that seized cigarettes and coffee be handed out to prisoners in return for a vote for list no. 1; he was arrested and reportedly also remanded in custody (responsible)
Administration for the Enforcement of Criminal Sanctions: According to a complaint filed by lawyer Ninić, the governors of all prisons collected capillary votes for SNS and sent staff to rallies under threat (responsible)
Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Serbia: It did not answer questions about the complaint against the minister; it condemned the publication of a prison governor's phone number (commented on the case)
Lokalna alternativa (Local Alternative): It filed criminal complaints with prosecutors in Vrbas and Novi Sad on suspicion of vote buying for SNS in Vrbas (oversight and the public)
Dragan Milić: He pointed to payments of 45 million dinars made to two Niš clubs ahead of the elections, which he suspects served the SNS; prosecutors opened a case (oversight and the public)
Dragoslav Pavlović: He allegedly approved 25 million dinars ahead of the elections for a club represented by an SNS member, which the prosecution is checking; he has also been reported over a stage for an SNS rally (responsible)
Branislav Kačar: The club he represents received 25 million dinars from the city before the election; he is reportedly among those arrested over the attack on bikers, which he had earlier denied (responsible)
Basic Public Prosecutor's Office in Ub: Questioned 13 suspects over the attack on the Student List's victory celebration in Ub; ten were remanded in custody (investigation and courts)
Bureau for Social Research (BIRODI): Media monitoring recorded 15,388 minutes of positive coverage of Vučić's list on TV Informer and 14,442 minutes of negative coverage of the Student List (oversight and the public)
Criminal Police Directorate (UKP), Interior Ministry: It searched Zabela prison on the orders of the prosecutor's office in Kraljevo; the prosecutor's office in Niš asked it for information about vote-buying and the “Konstantin” club (investigation and courts)
Srđan Milivojević: Filed a criminal complaint with the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office against Informer, Tanjug and their editors over the publication of early results on election night (oversight and the public)
Tačno d.o.o. (Tanjug news agency): According to Srđan Milivojević's complaint, it published early results on election night as a victory for the SNS list in order to provoke incidents (responsible)
Jovana Joksimović: According to Srđan Milivojević's criminal complaint, as editor of Tanjug she published early results as a victory for the SNS list in order to provoke incidents (responsible)
Dragan J. Vučićević: According to Srđan Milivojević's criminal complaint, as editor of Informer he published early results as a victory for the SNS list in order to provoke incidents (responsible)
Gorski Matović: Led a group that threatened a Student List mobile team on election day; the prosecution has ordered his arrest (responsible)
Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Kraljevo: It opened a case over suspected bribery linked to voting in Zabela prison, obtained search warrants and ordered the warden's arrest (investigation and courts)
Vladimir Orlić: According to a complaint by lawyer Ninić, as BIA director he forced employees to collect capillary votes for the SNS; the Organised Crime Prosecutor's Office ordered the allegations to be checked (responsible)
Association of Serbs in Austria: It unlawfully registered voters in Vienna, only Vučić supporters, and handed them SNS gifts (responsible)
Basic Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad: It ordered the arrest of two suspects over death threats in Novo Naselje on election day; a search is under way for Matović (investigation and courts)
Public Prosecutor's Office for Organised Crime: Acting on complaints by lawyer Ninić, it opened cases against the BIA director and the justice minister and ordered the police to check the allegations (investigation and courts)
Medijana Municipality: It filed criminal complaints against the mayor of Niš and city departments because the stage for an SNS rally stood in the city centre without a permit (oversight and the public)
Ivan Šebek: At a session of the Republic Electoral Commission, he pointed to a jump in votes for the SPP in the rerun and called on prosecutors and the police to look into possible vote-buying (oversight and the public)
Enes Mahmutović: He replied that he saw nothing questionable in the SPP's result in the rerun and that Šebek could file an objection (commented on the case)
Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office: Its Commission for Oversight of the Work of Prosecutors ordered the prosecutor's office in Kraljevo to investigate allegations of an SNS call centre in Zabela prison (investigation and courts)
Bratislav Dikić: He allegedly admitted that on election day the prison he runs tracked capillary votes and voter turnout on the orders of the UIKS “Headquarters” (responsible)
Basic Public Prosecutor's Office in Čačak: It opened a case over allegations of vote buying and the destruction of documents at public companies in Čačak after the election (investigation and courts)
Nikola Banković: According to employees, he promised that whoever was responsible for their data appearing on polling station committees would be identified, but no check was launched (commented on the case)