Police and bikers without number plates at the Kosjerić elections

Category: Elections, media and institutions

Period: from 8 Jun 2025

Outcome: No one investigated (as of 10 Jun 2025)

At the local elections in Kosjerić on 8 June 2025, according to CRTA, the police and the Gendarmerie guarded the gate of a company that unknown people were entering, while pushing citizens to the side; the BCSP called for an investigation into people without identification who were posing as police. At the repeat vote on 1 July, bikers without number plates and police surrounded the polling station, and the SNS reversed the result. The Interior Ministry reportedly did not respond to the request for an investigation.

Election day, 8 June

The local elections in Kosjerić on 8 June 2025 were the first test for the authorities since the student protests began. Minister Ivica Dačić said the police would help ensure there were no incidents, and the Interior Ministry said attempts to blockade polling stations had been removed in line with the law.

Observers from CRTA say many of those in uniform had no identification, and that the same people in plain clothes presented themselves both as police officers and as members of the electoral commission.

The Akvalajns company gate

At the gate of the Akvalajns company on Olge Grbić Street, according to a Vreme journalist, a police cordon pushed citizens to the side so that unknown men could enter, and in the evening the Gendarmerie arrived as well. CRTA says the police “guarded” the company premises and did not let the owner in.

During the night, the Gendarmerie and the Intervention Unit cleared a path for a convoy of vehicles leaving the factory. The journalist's tyres were slashed; a police officer reportedly did not help her.

People without identification

On 9 June, the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy said that in Kosjerić and Zaječar people without identification had posed as officials, controlled the area and intimidated voters. It called for an urgent and independent investigation and for the Interior Ministry's leadership to be held accountable for failing to act.

The Interior Ministry reportedly did not respond to these accusations or to questions from Insajder.

Commission, court and repeat vote

On 13 June, the Municipal Electoral Commission rejected the opposition's only complaint, and the Higher Court in Užice ruled that the vote at polling station 25 be repeated, because a person not on the voter roll had voted. The SNS led across the whole municipality by just 51 votes.

At that polling station on 8 June, the opposition had 220 votes to 125 for the SNS.

Repeat vote, 1 July

According to N1, the repeat election was marked by bikers without number plates and groups of unknown men, with plain-clothes police at the entrance. When citizens tried to stop the bikers, the police formed a cordon.

The SNS won 197 votes and United for Kosjerić 153. CRTA concluded that such elections cannot be considered free.

Frković and the Gendarmerie

The Kreni-promeni movement claims that Dejan Frković commanded the Gendarmerie in Kosjerić, which protected the fake bikers instead of intervening. This is the movement's claim; in 2026, the Interior Ministry said Frković had been the Gendarmerie coordinator in the Police Directorate since 2019, and appointed him chief of police in Šabac.

Participants

Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia: According to CRTA, the police showed bias and guarded a company that unknown people were entering, while pushing citizens to the side (responsible)
Gendarmerie, Interior Ministry: It pushed citizens to the side so that unknown people and a convoy of vehicles could pass through the gate of the Akvalajns company in Kosjerić (responsible)
Dejan Frković: According to the Kreni-promeni movement, he commanded the Gendarmerie in Kosjerić, which instead of stepping in protected “fake bikers” riding without licence plates (responsible)
Kosjerić Municipal Election Commission: It rejected the opposition's objection seeking to annul the vote of a person who was not on the voters' roll, and a court then ordered the election to be rerun (responsible)
Ivica Dačić: On election day, he said the police would help ensure there were no incidents and that disrupting the electoral process was prohibited (commented on the case)
CRTA (Centre for Research, Transparency and Accountability): It observed the elections in Kosjerić, concluded that the police had shown bias, and filed criminal complaints against the polling station committee (oversight and the public)
Belgrade Centre for Security Policy: It called for an urgent, independent investigation into all the incidents and for the Interior Ministry's leadership to be held accountable for failing to act (oversight and the public)
Higher Court in Užice: It ruled that the election at polling station 25 be rerun because a person not registered on the voters' roll had voted (investigation and courts)
Kreni-Promeni: It claims that the Gendarmerie in Kosjerić protected fake bikers and that it was commanded by Dejan Frković (oversight and the public)
United for Kosjerić: Its objection to a vote cast by a person not on the voters' roll was rejected by the commission; the court ordered the vote at polling station 25 to be rerun (harmed)