Serbian students officially launched their election campaign at a rally in Novi Sad, moving ahead of President Aleksandar Vučić’s Serbian Progressive Party, or SNS.
The rally took place one day after Vučić dissolved parliament and called snap parliamentary elections. According to Serbia’s Archive of Public Gatherings, around 5,600 people attended the event, which was announced and organised in less than 24 hours.
Several candidates from the student-backed electoral list addressed the gathering, including legal experts, university professors, doctors, sociologists and political scientists.
Political marketing expert Igor Avžner described the rally as a strong start to the students’ campaign. He said the student list appeared organised, had clear ideas and generated energy that was missing from the early activities of other political groups.
“The student list looks organised and works with ideas. They know what they want to achieve and how they plan to do it,” Avžner told Nova.
He argued that supporters attended voluntarily and were motivated to vote for the student list, instead of merely voting against Vučić and the SNS.
Avžner also accused the authorities of attempting to shorten the election campaign by obstructing the work of the Republic Electoral Commission and delaying the collection of signatures required to register candidate lists.
According to him, those obstacles could also create logistical difficulties for the ruling party as it prepares for the snap election campaign.