Serbian president to call elections soon; critic calls timing a tactic

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has declared that elections will be called "very soon," specifying a timeframe of 15 to 25 days. Vučić stated his intention to fulfill the demands for elections, playfully warning that those who requested them should not be surprised by the speed of the announcement.

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Very soon I will call the elections and fulfill their demands, completely as they asked. Just don't be surprised by the speed of calling the elections.

However, political consultant Dušan Milenković dismissed the president's remarks, particularly the notion of speed. Milenković pointed out that students have been requesting elections since May of the previous year, making the nearly year-and-a-half delay before this announcement seem "ridiculous." He characterized Vučić's campaign strategy as an attempt to solidify his existing voter base rather than attract new supporters, expressing skepticism about the president's latest pronouncements.

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It seems ridiculous to me, don't be surprised by the speed. Students have been asking for elections since May last year, it's been a year and a half, how can we be surprised by the speed when this is the slowest calling of elections in his history (for Vučić), since he has had to call snap elections several times during his rule and it was relatively quick from the announcement.

Milenković also weighed in on the electoral prospects of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS). He suggested that the SPS might opt to run independently from Vučić's Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), a move he doesn't consider a major reversal. Milenković explained that a separate run could allow both parties to preserve their respective voter bases more effectively. He noted that a significant portion of SPS voters might be hesitant to vote directly for Vučić's list. Current polling, he added, places the SPS precariously close to the electoral threshold, making their independent performance a potential risk.

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It seems to me like an attempt to consolidate the vote base, and I don't see an intention for that base to expand.