Pajtić: None of three opposition groups running separately will clear the threshold

Bojan Pajtić says none of the three opposition groups planning to run separately will clear the electoral threshold. In an interview with FoNet, the University of Novi Sad professor warned that a larger-than-expected turnout and an atmosphere of political conflict could leave each group short.

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No one will pass the threshold because many more people will turn out than the polls tell us, and because, unfortunately, an atmosphere of political war is being created.

He criticised the failure of the Stranka slobode i pravde and the Narodni pokret Srbije to agree on a joint campaign. If the parties contest the election, he said, their members and local committees should pressure them to run on one list. The strongest opposition list, based on the figures he cited, stood at only 4% to 5% and could fall below the threshold.

Pajtić proposed that all opposition parties unite without putting their leaders on the ballot. He said voters might then see that the parties were not fighting only for positions but for the common good. He also said the opposition would have a stronger effect if it backed a student list.

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In the best case, the strongest opposition list, as far as I read, is somewhere around 4% to 5%. Then it will fall below the threshold.

He called multiple opposition lists “completely unacceptable” and “a terribly unserious and irresponsible move,” referring to violence against young people during the current political tensions. Pajtić predicted an “unpleasant surprise” for the authorities and said the gap could be larger than expected.

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The only potential problem could be multiple opposition lists. It is now the opposition’s obligation to unite.

He argued that opposition parties had an obligation to unite and must not waste votes or hand another term to Aleksandar Vučić. Pajtić said many people who skipped previous elections because they saw no hope could now turn out, while hundreds of thousands involved in local assemblies were prepared to face detention or violence. He added that the expected high turnout would blunt the authorities’ campaign and claimed that regime-aligned students at the University of Belgrade’s Faculty of Law were trying to weaken the student list.

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They have no right to throw away votes and hand another term to Aleksandar Vučić.