Local elections in Negotin, Mionica and Sečanj on Sunday were marked by high turnout, reports of violence and a series of alleged irregularities at and around polling stations, election-monitoring groups said.
Observers reported suspected vote-buying, photographing of ballots, parallel voter lists and intimidation of monitoring teams throughout the day.
In Mionica, opposition lawmaker Bogdan Radovanović of the Green-Left Front (ZLF) was injured in a clash, the movement said. Videos shared online showed chairs and bottles being thrown during a separate brawl at a restaurant in the village of Rajković. Local media said the venue was being used as an informal campaign hub of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). Police detained several people.
Crta, a prominent monitoring organisation, withdrew its teams from all polling stations in Mionica, saying police failed to intervene when a group of men blocked their vehicle, attempted to smash its windows and prevented two observers from leaving.
In Negotin, monitors reported parallel voter lists and widespread breaches of ballot secrecy. A photographer was allegedly assaulted by a group of men on quad bikes who took his phone. Observers from Novi Sad said 40 tyres on 12 of their cars were slashed overnight in an attempt to stop them from reaching polling stations.
In Sečanj, observers reported cases of voting without identification documents and photographing of ballots. A bus station was allegedly used as a location for maintaining parallel voter lists, N1 television reported.
Turnout by 6 p.m. reached 74.1% in Mionica, 64.4% in Sečanj and 52.6% in Negotin, according to local election commissions.
President Aleksandar Vučić said voting was “mostly peaceful”, noting only “two incidents” in Negotin, and added that turnout exceeded levels recorded four years ago.
Crta warned that the safety of its observers was “seriously endangered” and said local prosecutors had opened a case regarding the Mionica incident. The organisation said nearly a quarter of polling stations in the town were not prepared in line with electoral procedures.
Transparency Serbia said the campaign in all three municipalities was marked by “abuse of public office”, noting intensified visits by senior state officials and ministers, including Vučić.
SNS and its allied coalitions have governed all three municipalities for more than a decade.