Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dačić said on Sunday that local election results in three municipalities showed his Socialist Party (SPS) remained politically relevant despite months of speculation that it was losing support.
Dačić, also a deputy prime minister, told Pink TV he was satisfied with outcomes in Mionica, Sečanj and Negotin, calling them “expected results” and arguing that elections, not opinion surveys, were the only credible indicator of public sentiment.
SPS has faced what Dačić described as sustained pressure in recent months, fuelled by claims that the party was “disappearing” and squeezed between the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and a student-led protest movement. “When we add up all results, in all three municipalities, these are good results,” he said.
Clashes and political messaging
Dačić accused student groups leading recent blockades of applying “double standards” after weekend scuffles outside Serbia’s National Assembly. Students have staged blockades of public broadcasters, universities and major roads, while criticising a legally approved gathering in Belgrade’s Pionirski Park by groups aligned with the government.
“They planned that space for themselves and are now angry,” Dačić said, adding that Quint diplomats had told him police showed restraint during recent confrontations.
Election day irregularities
Dačić said police intervened several times on election day, especially in Mionica, citing incidents involving people carrying batons and others allegedly arriving from outside the municipalities “prepared to cause chaos”.
His comments fit a broader narrative advanced by senior officials following Sunday’s vote, in which President Aleksandar Vučić’s SNS claimed sweeping victories, presenting the outcome as confirmation of its political dominance despite months of protests and criticism from opposition groups.
The student “blockaders”, as government officials label them, accuse authorities of intimidation and say police tolerate aggressive behaviour by pro-government activists while responding more forcefully to opposition gatherings — a charge Dačić rejects.
The dispute underscores rising tensions ahead of future national contests, with the government framing protests as attempts to destabilise the country, while critics accuse Serbian leaders of eroding democratic standards and tightening control over institutions.