Brnabić Denies Official Campaigning, Says Party Activities Take Place Outside Working Hours

Ana Brnabić has rejected accusations that Serbia’s ruling Serbian Progressive Party, or SNS, is using public office for an illegal campaign.

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We do not conduct official campaigning.

In a post on X, the Serbian Parliament speaker said the party gatherings she and other SNS leaders attend take place on weekends and outside working hours. She said the events are clearly branded, announced and presented as party activities.

Brnabić also dismissed the claim that the activity amounts to a pre-election campaign, arguing that elections have not been called. She said President Aleksandar Vučić has traveled around Serbia throughout his time in public office, including as prime minister and during both of his presidential terms.

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It cannot be a pre-election campaign because elections have not been called.

She challenged critics who, she said, wanted to deny SNS the same right to hold political gatherings that other parties enjoy. Brnabić pointed to University of Belgrade Rector Vladan Đokić, saying he also has the right to travel around Serbia and deliver political messages while holding office.

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The boundary between the party and the state is absolutely clear.

She concluded that the boundary between the party and the state is “absolutely clear,” and accused opponents of preparing “a new alibi for electoral defeat.”

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Those are the people preparing a new alibi for electoral defeat.