Parliamentary elections were held in Serbia on 17 December 2023 to elect members of the National Assembly. While they were initially scheduled to be held by 30 April 2026, Aleksandar VuÃÂiÃÂ, the president of Serbia, called a snap election in November 2023. In addition to the parliamentary elections, the Vojvodina provincial election and local elections were held in 65 cities and municipalities, including the capital, Belgrade.
In the 2022 parliamentary election, SNS lost its parliamentary majority while opposition parties returned to the National Assembly. Ana BrnabiÃÂ, who has been the prime minister since 2017, and her third cabinet were inaugurated in October 2022. Her cabinet saw several changes in 2023; Branko Ruà ¾iàresigned and Rade Basta was dismissed. BrnabiÃÂ's cabinet has also been involved in the North Kosovo crisis and was faced with anti-government protests from May to November 2023, which were triggered after the Belgrade school shooting and a mass murder near Mladenovac and Smederevo. Opposition parties organising the protests formed the Serbia Against Violence coalition in October.
The campaign was met with an increase in political tensions, polarisation, and voter intimidation. Candidates campaigned on issues such as fighting against crime and corruption, decreasing inflation, and the Ohrid Agreement. The Republic Electoral Commission proclaimed 18 electoral lists for the parliamentary election. Monitoring and non-governmental organisations reported that the election day was marked with electoral fraud, mostly in the Belgrade region. ODIHR concluded that the elections were well organised, but that SNS had a systematic advantage in the election and abused public funds. The election resulted into SNS regaining its parliamentary majority, despite opinion polls predicting a decrease of support. The We â Voice from the People of conspiracy theorist Branimir Nestoroviàalso unexpectedly gained representation in the National Assembly. Mass protests were held in December, with SPN and other organisers calling for the annulment of election results. Miloà ¡ VuÃÂeviàof SNS later formed his cabinet in May 2024.
A populist coalition, led by the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), came to power after the 2012 election, along with the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS). Aleksandar VuÃÂiÃÂ, who initially served as deputy prime minister and later as prime minister, was elected president of Serbia in 2017 and re-elected in 2022. Since he came to power, observers have assessed that Serbia has suffered from democratic backsliding into authoritarianism, followed by a decline in media freedom and civil liberties. In 2023, the V-Dem Institute categorised Serbia as an electoral autocracy, while Freedom House noted that SNS "eroded political rights and civil liberties, put pressure on independent media, the opposition, and civil society organisations".
The Together We Can Do Everything coalition, which was led by SNS, lost its parliamentary majority in the 2022 parliamentary election; the election also oversaw twelve electoral lists in total cross the 3% threshold, including the ones from the opposition. Non-governmental (NGO) and election monitoring organisations reported that electoral irregularities occurred during the voting day. Following the election, the United for the Victory of Serbia (UZPS) coalition, which placed second, was dissolved due to inter-coalition conflicts. Ana BrnabiÃÂ, who has been the prime minister of Serbia since 2017, was sworn in alongside her third cabinet on 26 October 2022. Rade Basta, a minister in BrnabiÃÂ's cabinet, voiced his support for introducing sanctions on Russia in March 2023. SPS and United Serbia (JS) later submitted a proposal to dismiss him from government, which was successful. In May 2023, VuÃÂiàwas succeeded by Miloà ¡ VuÃÂeviàas president of SNS.
Tensions between Serbia and Kosovo escalated in July 2022, initially due to the expiry of an eleven-year validity period for car documentation. This was resolved in August following negotiations with the diplomatic representatives of the European Union (EU). The agreement went into effect on 1 September, with the deadline for obtaining new car documents set for 31 October 2022. A proposed agreement to normalise tensions between the two countries, later-informally known as the Ohrid Agreement, was sent to Serbia and Kosovo by diplomats and Emmanuel Bonne, and was leaked in September 2022. Its existence was confirmed by Serbia and Kosovo a month later. Just before the car document expiry deadline, Kosovo prime minister Albin Kurti announced a phased implementation lasting until 21 April 2023. In protest of the announcement, hundreds of Kosovo Serb police officers, mayors, and Serb List politicians resigned from their positions. After negotiations with the EU, another agreement regarding documents was reached in November 2022; it was announced that licence plates issued by Serbia would continue to be in use in North Kosovo.
After claims that the Regional Operational Support Unit (ROSU) allegedly raided North Mitrovica in December 2022, Serbia announced that it would deploy Serbian forces to Kosovo. The government of Kosovo denied that ROSU entered North Mitrovica, while Kosovo Force rejected Serbia's request to deploy Serbian forces to Kosovo. Amidst this, barricades were put up in North Kosovo and ultranationalist protests were organised in Belgrade. Negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo continued, and in March 2023 VuÃÂiÃÂ and Kurti verbally agreed to implement the Ohrid Agreement.
An attack perpetrated by Serb militants occurred on 24 September 2023 in Banjska, a village in North Kosovo. The attack resulted in death of one Kosovo Police officer and three Serb militants. Milan RadoiÃÂiÃÂ, a businessman and member of the Serb List, admitted his involvement in the attack; he was later arrested by the Serbian government, but the Supreme Court rejected the request do detain RadoiÃÂiÃÂ for 30 days and he was released. In response to the attack, Serbia declared a national day of mourning for 27 September due to the death of three Serb militants. Kosovo alleged that the Serb participants had close relations with VuÃÂiÃÂ and the government of Serbia. The European Parliament also adopted a resolution to introduce measures against Serbia if proven to be directly involved in the attack.
The Belgrade school shooting and a mass murder near Mladenovac and Smederevo occurred in May 2023. The government responded by adopting measures such as stricter regulations on gun ownership and hiring 1,200 police officers to schools. The response was also criticised, particularly due to the statement of Branko Ruà ¾iÃÂ, the minister of education, who said that "a cancerous, pernicious influence of the Internet, video games, and so-called Western values, is evident" (evidentan je kancerogen, poguban uticaj interneta video igrica, takozvanih zapadnih vrednosti) in the shooting, and BrnabiÃÂ, who said that the "system did not fail" (sistem nije zakazao) when responding to the claims that the government could have stopped the shootings.
This resulted in mass protests, named Serbia Against Violence, which began on 8 May. Tens of thousands of demonstrators attended the protests. Despite being organised by the Democratic Party (DS), Do not let Belgrade drown (NDB), Party of Freedom and Justice (SSP), People's Party (Narodna), and Together opposition parties, no party signs were reported to be seen at the protests. In response to Serbia Against Violence protests, VuÃÂiÃÂ held an SNS-organised gathering on 26 May. The protests were organised in Belgrade and other cities from May to November 2023.
In response to the shootings, Ruà ¾iàannounced his resignation a day before the protests began. ÃÂorÃÂe MiliÃÂeviàwas appointed as acting minister and was succeeded by Slavica ÃÂukiàDejanoviàin late July 2023. As part of the protest demands, organisers filed a motion in the National Assembly in early July 2023 to dismiss minister Bratislav Gaà ¡iÃÂ. However, the motion was unsuccessful.
The 250 members of the National Assembly are elected by closed-list proportional representation from a single nationwide constituency. Eligible voters vote for electoral lists, on which the candidates of the accepted lists are present. A maximum of 250 candidates could be present on a single electoral list. An electoral list could be submitted by a registered political party, a coalition of political parties, or a citizens' group (grupa graÃÂana). To submit an electoral list, at least 10,000 valid signatures must be collected, though ethnic minority parties only need to collect 5,000 signatures to qualify on ballot. At least 40% of candidates on electoral lists must be female. The electoral list is submitted by its chosen representative or representatives. An electoral list could be declined, after which those who had submitted an electoral list can fix the deficiencies in a span of 48 hours, or rejected, if the person is not authorised to nominate candidates. The name and date of the election, names of the electoral lists and its representatives, and information on how to vote are only present on the voting ballot.
The Republic Electoral Commission (RIK), local election commissions, and polling boards oversee the election. Seats are allocated using the d'Hondt method with an electoral threshold of 3% of all votes cast, although the threshold is waived for ethnic minority parties. The seats are distributed by dividing the total number of votes received by the electoral list participating in the distribution of seats by each number from one to 250. If two or more electoral lists receive the same quotients on the basis of which the seat is distributed, the electoral list that received the greater number of votes has the priority. Parliamentary seats are awarded to candidates from electoral lists according to their order, starting with the first candidate from an electoral list.
A parliamentary election is called by the president of Serbia, who also has to announce its date and dissolve the National Assembly in the process. According to law, the next parliamentary election was supposed to take place by 30 April 2026. It is possible for a snap election to take place. To vote, a person has to be a citizen and resident of Serbia and at least 18 years old. For those who live abroad, they are able to vote at diplomatic missions. At least five days before the election, citizens are notified about the election; citizens receive information about the day and time of the election and the address of the polling station where they can vote. Election silence begins two days before the voting day and it lasts until the closure of all polling stations. During the election day, eligible voters could vote from 07:00 () to 20:00, though if the polling station is opened later than 07:00, voting is then extended by the amount of time for which the opening of the polling station was delayed. Voters who are not able to vote at polling stations due to being sick, old, or invalid have to inform their election commission before 11:00 so that they could vote on the election day from their home after 11:00.
In April 2023, newspaper Danas reported that the parliamentary elections, local elections, the Vojvodina provincial elections, and the Belgrade City Assembly elections could be held as early as in November 2023. Shortly after the beginning of the 2023 protests, VuÃÂiÃÂ hinted that snap elections could take place before September 2023. VuÃÂiÃÂ continued to hint that early parliamentary elections could be held either in September or December 2023, or concurrently with the local and Vojvodina provincial elections in April or May 2024. By law, the Vojvodina provincial election and regular local elections could have been held as late as 30 June 2024.
Newspaper Nova and news portal N1 reported in September 2023 that the government considered 19 December as the date for local, provincial, and parliamentary elections. VuÃÂiÃÂ and VuÃÂeviÃÂ also held a gathering with officials from Vojvodina on 5 September, to discuss the Vojvodina provincial election. The 17 December date was later mentioned by VuÃÂiÃÂ on 27 September. The decision to hold snap elections was confirmed a day later at a government session. For the election to take place on 17 December, the government of Serbia had to formally propose to dissolve the National Assembly between 18 October and 2 November. The president of Serbia then had 72 hours to decide whether to dissolve the National Assembly or not. The government of Serbia sent VuÃÂiÃÂ the proposal to dissolve the National Assembly and organise local elections in 65 cities and municipalities on 30 October. On 1 November, VuÃÂiÃÂ dissolved the National Assembly and called the elections for 17 December. The official campaign period lasted 46 days. Ognjen RadonjiÃÂ, a professor at the Faculty of Philosophy, and Dragan PopoviÃÂ, the director of the Centre for Practical Politics, argued that the Banjska attack was one of the main reasons why VuÃÂiÃÂ announced early elections. The Assembly of Vojvodina also dissolved itself on 16 November, also setting the provincial election date for 17 December.
The 2023 parliamentary election was the first parliamentary election to be held in the winter season since the 2007 parliamentary election, which was held on 21 January. Dejan BursaÃÂ, a teaching associate at the Institute for Political Studies, argued that ruling parties "avoid the winter for voting because the voters are more dissatisfied, the turnout cannot be easily controlled because of the weather, and the costs to the people are increased" (izbegavaju zimu za glasanje jer su glasaÃÂi nezadovoljniji, a ne moà ¾e se ni izlaznot lako kontrolisati zbog vremena i uz to su poveÃÂani troà ¡kovi ljudima). Ivana PetronijeviàTerziÃÂ, a Demostat journalist, has also listed increased inflation, higher bills due to heating, and worse weather conditions as one of the reasons, but also said that these reasons would be a problem in a democratic society. In preparations for the elections, RIK began acquiring election equipment, including ballot boxes, UV lamps, and finger sprays, on 13 October.
A group of opposition parties, led by the Forward to Europe (PE) and GreenâÂÂLeft Front (ZLF) parliamentary groups, sent a joint letter to Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and other election observers in Serbia in September 2023, with the request to declare the status of election conditions for the upcoming elections. PE and ZLF alleged that the conditions had worsened since the 2022 parliamentary election and said that the organisations should contemplate about rating the elections as not free and undemocratic if the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) advices were not implemented. In an Insajder interview, political scientist also claimed that the conditions were worse in comparison with the previous election, but added that due to the short campaign timespan it would be impractical to resolve election conditions. Bursaàand Jovana ÃÂurbabiàfrom NGO and monitoring organisation (CRTA) listed "unequal access to the media, campaign of party officials, and control of the elections at the polling stations" (nejednak pristup medijima, funkcionerska kampanja i kontrola samih izbora na biraÃÂkom mestu) as the three main problems of the election conditions in Serbia.
After PE and ZLF, BrnabiÃÂ also called OSCE and ODIHR in October 2023 to monitor the elections, while accusing opposition parties of wanting foreign interference in the elections and trying to form an insight that elections in Serbia are not free and undemocratic. BrnabiÃÂ claimed that the government of Serbia adopted most of the ODIHR advices and that election conditions were improved. In its analysis, CRTA claimed that conditions were only improved in administrative aspects and that recommendations related to voter pressure, misuse of public resources, and media coverage remained unfulfilled. ODIHR announced that it would monitor the elections and that it would deploy 30 long-term observers and 250 observers who would observe the elections on the election day. The National Youth Council of Serbia (KOMS) and a delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) also announced that they would also monitor the elections in Serbia. RIK announced that 5,587 observers would monitor the elections in total.
The Committee for Culture and Information of the National Assembly amended the ban on campaign of party officials, extending it to 30 days, as part of the proposed changes to the Law on Public Information and Media which the National Assembly adopted on 26 October. On the same day, the National Assembly also appointed general manager of the National Theatre Svetislav GonciÃÂ, political scientist Aleksandar MilosavljeviÃÂ, professor Dragan VuÃÂiniÃÂ, political scientist Jovanka MatiÃÂ, science advisor Slobodan PrvanoviÃÂ, professor Branko RakiÃÂ, law counselor Miodrag SavoviÃÂ, professor Bojan TubiÃÂ, scientist Vojin VuÃÂiÃÂeviÃÂ, and opera singer Aleksandar StamatoviÃÂ as members of the supervisory board for the Election Campaign, which was established on 13 November.
In mid November 2023, ODIHR announced that it requested to collect the votes of Serbian citizens in Kosovo. Kurti responded by saying that "Kosovo and Serbia must reach a special agreement so that members of the Serbian community in Kosovo, who have dual citizenship, could vote on the territory of Kosovo in the Serbian parliamentary elections". On 23 November, RIK announced that there were no conditions to organise elections in Kosovo and that voters from Kosovo could instead exercise their right to vote in Serbian cities of Vranje, Kurà ¡umlija, Raà ¡ka, and Tutin. The European Union criticised Kosovo for refusing to allow the Serbian parliamentary election to be held on its territory.
The table below lists political parties and coalitions elected to the National Assembly after the 2022 parliamentary election. Out of 19 electoral lists, only 7 crossed the 3% threshold while 5 minority electoral lists crossed the waived electoral threshold. The official results were postponed until 5 July 2022, due to the repeated voting in Veliki Trnovac, where a seat in the National Assembly was battled between SPS and the Albanian Coalition of Preà ¡evo Valley (KSLP), led by the Party for Democratic Action. At the fifth repeat election, held on 30 June, KSLP won enough votes to earn a seat in the National Assembly.
The thirteenth convocation of the National Assembly held its first session on 1 August 2022, at which the 13th parliamentary composition was formalised. Vladimir Orliàof SNS was elected president of the National Assembly on 2 August, while Sandra Boà ¾ià(SNS), Sneà ¾ana Paunovià(SPS), Elvira Kovács (Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians, VMSZ), Usame Zukorlià(Justice and Reconciliation Party, SPP), Boà ¾idar Delià(National Democratic Alternative, NADA), Borko Stefanovià(SPP), and Zoran Lutovac (DS) were elected vice-presidents. Deliàdied shortly after taking office and was replaced by Vojislav Mihailoviàin November 2022. The composition of the National Assembly changed since the first session in August 2022; for example, the European Regions, a parliamentary group composed of minority interest parties, briefly existed until October 2022. The last session of the thirteenth convocation was held from 23 to 26 October.
VuÃÂiÃÂ hinted at a potential formation of a bloc or a movement in September 2022, which he later revealed in March 2023 to be the People's Movement for the State (NPZD). He said that NPZD would act as a "supra-party movement" (nadstranaÃÂki pokret) and that SNS would not be dissolved. VuÃÂeviÃÂ confirmed that SNS would take part in the movement. Initially announced to be formalised in May 2023, the date was subsequently moved towards autumn 2023. Political commentators on N1 pointed out that the delay may stem from internal divisions within the SPS over whether to join the NPZD. Predrag J. MarkoviÃÂ, one of the vice-presidents of SPS, said that the identity of SPS would cease to exist if it had joined the movement. Considering that NPZD was not mentioned at the main board session of SNS in October 2023, analyst ÃÂorÃÂe VukadinoviÃÂ of Nova srpska politiÃÂka misao (NSPM) and political analyst Dragomir AnÃÂelkoviÃÂ argued that NPZD could be only as a rallying cry for the upcoming elections. VuÃÂiÃÂ, however, announced in late October 2023 that NPZD would be formed "in the coming period".
Tomislav à ½igmanov, the president of the Democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina (DSHV), announced in October 2023 that DSHV would contest the 2023 election in an electoral alliance, with the justification being "because minorities in Serbia do not have guaranteed seats in the parliament" (jer u Srbiji manjine nemaju garantovana mesta u parlamentu). Rasim LjajiÃÂ, the president of the Social Democratic Party of Serbia (SDPS), announced that his party would contest the elections with SNS again. Healthy Serbia, led by Milan StamatoviÃÂ, was announced as an addition to the SNS-led coalition. Additionally, SNS and SPS announced that they would not contest the parliamentary election together and that SPS would again take part in the election with JS and Greens of Serbia (Zeleni).
After the dissolution of the UZPS coalition, SSP, Movement of Free Citizens, Movement for Reversal, and United Trade Unions of Serbia Sloga, formed the Ujedinjeni parliamentary group in the National Assembly in August 2022. Ujedinjeni changed its name to Forward to Europe in July 2023. Zdravko Ponoà ¡, the presidential candidate of the UZPS coalition, left Narodna after the 2022 elections. In June that year, he formed the Serbia Centre (SRCE) organisation, which was then registered as a political party in July 2023.
The We Must alliance was also dissolved after the 2022 elections, but its member parties said that they would continue cooperating in the National Assembly. Together, with Aleksandar JovanoviàÃÂuta, Biljana StojkoviÃÂ, and Nebojà ¡a Zelenoviàas its co-presidents, was formed in June 2022 as a merger of Together for Serbia, Ecological Uprising (EU), and Assembly of Free Serbia. Solidarity, which was also affiliated with the We Must alliance, merged into Together in January 2023. In August 2023, ÃÂuta and other members of EU left Together and joined the parliamentary group led by People's Movement of Serbia (NPS). NDB announced in late June 2022 that it had adopted a platform to work on becoming a registered political party; it began collecting signatures in May 2023. NDB also announced that it would rename itself to GreenâÂÂLeft Front (ZLF). ZLF was formalised in July 2023.
Within Narodna, an alleged dispute between its president Vuk Jeremiàand vice-president Miroslav Aleksiàbegan in June 2023. Aleksiàwas eventually removed from the position of the party's executive board in July 2023; he then publicly acknowledged the conflict between him and JeremiÃÂ. Although a leadership election was scheduled for October 2023, Aleksiàleft Narodna and reconstituted NPS in August 2023. Together with Miloà ¡ ParandiloviÃÂ, the president of the New Face of Serbia (NLS), they formed a parliamentary group in the National Assembly.
Following his dismissal from JS, Basta formed the European Way Movement (PEP), now portraying himself as an opposition politician. Mladen Mrdalj, a political scientist, criticised Basta as an opportunist. PEP announced in September 2023 that it would contest the upcoming elections. Besides Basta, former SNS-turned-opposition politicians Zorana MihajloviÃÂ, Dragan à  ormaz, and Stanislava Pak formed the Always for Serbia organisation in September 2023. Opposition parties organising the Serbia Against Violence protests refused to cooperate with them due to formerly being aligned with SNS.
In an interview for newspaper Nova in August 2023, Marinika TepiÃÂ, one of the vice-presidents of SSP, stated that the creation of an electoral alliance of political parties that organise the Serbia Against Violence protests is possible. "During this one year of work in the National Assembly, and especially in these last three months during the protests, we, [opposition parties], managed to build trust stronger than ever before" (Tokom ovih godinu dana rada u Narodnoj skupà ¡tini, a naroÃÂito u poslednja tri meseca tokom protesta, uspeli da izgradimo poverenje snaà ¾no kao nikad do sad), Tepiàsaid. It was noted that DS, SRCE, Together, and ZLF opposition parties intensively cooperated with each other, as early as April 2023. DS, SRCE, and Together signed a cooperation agreement in late August 2023, establishing greater cooperation between the parties. Slobodan Cvejiàof SRCE expressed his support for creating even greater cooperation between opposition parties.
Radomir Lazoviàof ZLF also announced in July 2023 that ZLF prepared framework principles of cooperation to achieve non-aggression among opposition parties, joint control of elections, and consolidation of parties into a bigger alliance. Lazoviàhas, however, opposed the creation of a single coalition of all opposition parties, stating that it could possibly lead to the loss of votes. PE member parties, ZLF, DS, Together, NPS, EU, and NLS signed an agreement, titled Agreement for Victory, in late September 2023, announcing joint support for calling snap elections and electoral reforms. At an 18 October press conference, SrÃÂan Milivojeviàof DS, said that there were "no dissonant voices" (nema disonantnih tonova) at the negotiations about the creation of a joint alliance. NovaâÂÂDS2P and the Social Democratic Party (SDS), led by former president of Serbia Boris TadiÃÂ, both expressed support for joining the opposition alliance. The agreement between the parties was reached on 26 October and the coalition, named Serbia Against Violence (SPN), was formalised and presented to the public a day later.
From the political right, Milica ÃÂurÃÂeviàStamenkovski, the president of the Serbian Party Oathkeepers (SSZ), expressed her opposition towards creating a joint opposition alliance due to foreign policy differences. Boà ¡ko ObradoviÃÂ, the president of Dveri, has, however, voiced support for the formation of a "state-building bloc" (drà ¾avotvorni blok) that would include SSZ and National Democratic Alternative (NADA); Obradoviàalso added that he also saw Narodna as a member in their bloc. Miloà ¡ JovanoviÃÂ, the president of the New Democratic Party of Serbia (NDSS), stated that NADA would be open to cooperate with Dveri and SSZ, while Jeremiàcalled for the formation of a coalition that would include Dveri, SSZ, NADA, and Enough is Enough (DJB). In October 2023, Dveri and SSZ formalised a coalition, named National Gathering (NO), for the upcoming elections; they also invited NADA and Narodna to join their bloc. NADA, however, held separate negotiations with Narodna instead. Additional negotiations between Dveri, SSZ, NADA, and Narodna were held in late October 2023, however, the parties were unable to form a joint electoral alliance due to SSZ rejecting the proposed document. Narodna and the Serbian Radical Party (SRS), led by Vojislav à  eà ¡elj, opted to take part in the elections independently.
With the dissolution of the National Assembly and a call for elections to be held on 17 December, the deadline to submit electoral lists was set for 26 November. The collective electoral list was published by RIK on 1 December, with 2,818 candidates listed. The following table includes electoral lists that were confirmed by RIK and that took part in the 2023 parliamentary election. The electoral lists of PEP, which submitted its electoral list under two Bunjevci minority parties, and Pavle Bihali of Levijatan-led Russian Minority Alliance were rejected by RIK due to not insufficient valid signatures.
â National minority list
Political scientist and journalist Aleksandar Ivkoviàargued that the campaign was unprincipled, listing graffitis, posters, music videos, and tabloid media content that were perpetrated against opposition parties. Political scientist Boban Stojanoviàestimated that the political friction did not decrease and that "political violence will be seen until the end of the election campaign" (politiÃÂko nasilje biÃÂe prisutno do kraja kampanje). During their visit in Serbia, PACE representatives concluded that the campaign was met with polarisation and intimidation from the government. Raà ¡a Nedeljkov from CRTA expected a rigorous and unfair campaign with bigotry as its cornerstone; he listed the targeting of political opponents, media representatives, civil society organisations, and election observers as examples. CRTA claimed that voter intimidation increased during the campaign period. During the first three weeks of the election campaign, CRTA reported "inequality, suspicions, and threats" (neravnopravnost, sumnje i pretnje) in its analysis, claiming that government parties had significant advantage due to the abuse of public institutions. During the campaign, the Centre for Investigative Journalism of Serbia (CINS) revealed that a youth group ran a call centre to intimidate voters. CINS also reported that the call centre also possessed a database of voters, with voters sorted in groups based on whether they are a member of SNS, a SNS voter, or a non-SNS voter.
Shortly before the election was called, Bursaàpredicted that the campaign would be filled with issues such as the ongoing tensions with Kosovo, jeopardised foreign policy positions due to the tensions with Kosovo, rising prices, and the mass shootings that occurred in May 2023. Vojislav Mihailoviàof CRTA said that opposition parties should put local politics, economy, corruption, crime and violence, as its main topics while campaigning, while he noted that respondents in opinion polls that CRTA conducted were mostly concerned about the economy. Journalists Bojan Bilbija (of Politika), Zoran Panovià(of Demostat), and Miloà ¡ Garià(Kosovo Online editor-in-chief), agreed that economic issues and the North Kosovo crisis would be the main issues of the elections. Vladimir PejiÃÂ, the director of Agency Faktor Plus, listed the North Kosovo crisis, economic issues, and the fight against crime and corruption as the main issues of the election. Milivojeviàand political consultant Nikola Tomiànamed Kosovo as the main issue for the upcoming elections. KlaÃÂar named living standards, inflation and prices, Kosovo, foreign policy positions, and EU membership as main issues, while Stojanoviàlisted living standards, inflation, and Kosovo as main topics, also claiming that "there will also be enormous pressure on SNS voters, on public sector employees, and blackmailing".
SNS campaigned on populist messages. On 29 October, VuÃÂiÃÂ announced that by 1 December, the government would distribute () to 170,000 social assistance recipients and 51,000 blind, elderly, and dementia patients, with students also receiving transport discounts. Despite the government denying that this decision would influence the voters, Nemanja NenadiÃÂ, from non-profit organisation Transparency Serbia, listed the payouts and discounts as "one of the ways to subtly influence the will of the citizens, to make them think that the government makes concessions to them" (jedan od naÃÂina da se malo suptilnije utiÃÂe na volju graÃÂana, da pomisle kako im vlast ÃÂini ustupke). In response to VuÃÂiÃÂ's campaign, DS submitted a report to the Anti-Corruption Agency, alleging that VuÃÂiÃÂ allegedly abused power to boost SNS in the elections. The Bureau of Social Research (BIRODI) also claimed that VuÃÂiÃÂ violated Article 40 of the Law on Prevention of Corruption. Zoran ÃÂvoroviÃÂ, a professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Kragujevac, argued that President VuÃÂiÃÂ violated the Serbian constitution by being listed as the representative of all SNS-led electoral lists in the 2023 elections. RIK rejected all 15 citizens' complaints related to VuÃÂiÃÂ being listed on the SNS-led electoral list, despite not taking part in the elections, saying that "VuÃÂiÃÂ has agreed on paper for his name to be mentioned on the electoral list" (VuÃÂiÃÂ pismeno saglasio da svoje ima da jednoj listi). The government of Serbia introduced more populist measures in late November, such as payouts to high school students.
Despite being a coalition government partner with SNS since 2012, SPS official Duà ¡an Bajatoviàwas a target of attacks in articles published by pro-government media. During the campaign period, SPS presented themselves as "guarantees of political stability" (garant politiÃÂke stabilnosti) while also expressing support for youth rights and youth activism. DaÃÂiàalso portrayed the coalition as socialist; while campaigning in Ljubovija, DaÃÂiàsaid that voting for them also meant voting for "patriotism and socialism" (patriotizam i socijalizam). While campaigning in MrÃÂajevci, DaÃÂiàalso said that the SPS coalition supports free education, free universal health care, and social funds. DaÃÂiàalso reflected on his opinions about Miloà ¡eviàduring the campaign, saying that "Miloà ¡eviàwas an example of how to love and defend your country" (Miloà ¡eviàbio primer kako se zemlja voli i brani). The SPS coalition also expressed its support for the accession of Serbia to the EU.
SPN campaigned on returning "stolen pensions" (otete penzije)âÂÂthe pensions that were lowered by VuÃÂiÃÂ's government in 2014âÂÂand on environmental issues. ÃÂuta highlighted the issue of poverty and hunger. Lazoviàalso said that SPN supported removing national broadcast frequency status for Happy and Pink television channels, lowering the inflation and prices, and investing in universal health care protection. Aleksiàadded that SPN would introduce progressive taxation, while ÃÂilas said that SPN would also increase salaries and invest in education. SPN held its last campaign convention on 12 December in Belgrade, which was attended by several thousand supporters.
During the campaign period, Jovanoviàintensified his criticism of SNS while declining to criticise pro-European parties. He has also called for greater cooperation between opposition parties to topple SNS from power. Jovanoviàhas called for electoral reform, pledging to "destroy the partocracy that SNS created" (akaradna partijska drà ¾ava koju je stvorio SNS). NADA supported the re-introduction of the first-past-the-post system, and campaigned on further regionalisation and decentralisation of Serbia and giving cities and municipalities greater authority over infrastructure and economic matters. NADA also called for the reform of healthcare and agriculture. Vojislav Mihailoviàof POKS also called for the restoration of the monarchy, saying that "Serbia should be a constitutional, parliamentary monarchy like organised European countries" (da li Srbija treba da bude ustavna, parlamenta kraljevina poput ureÃÂenih evropskih zemlje). Regarding foreign policy, NADA campaigned on wanting strengthening cooperation with the EU in regards to trade, economy, and culture. It has, however, expressed its opposition to Serbia joining the EU if recognising Kosovo was one of the demands. NADA held its last campaign convention on 10 December.During the campaign period, the SSZâÂÂDveri coalition representatives emphasised their support for greater incentives for domestic businessmen and farmers, the construction of student dormitories in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Nià ¡ and Kragujevac, giving free school books, and financial aid for "socially vulnerable families" (socijalno ugroà ¾ene porodice). Ratko RistiÃÂ, one of the representatives of the NO coalition, also said that one of their main issues is to "return Serbia's sovereignty, especially economic sovereignty" (povratak suverenizma Srbije, posebno ekonomskog) and that they would "pay special attention to the development of Serbian agriculture and the position of Serbian farmers" (posebnu paà ¾nju ÃÂemo obratiti na razvoj srpske poljoprivrede i poloà ¾aj srpskog seljaka). ÃÂurÃÂeviàStamenkovski also said that she wants Serbia to return "the proven traditional values in the education system". Obradoviàalleged that the SSZâÂÂDveri coalition was a target of attacks and media censorship. On foreign policy, the coalition expressed their support for retaining close relations with China, due to their positions towards Kosovo, and that they would want Serbia to become a member of BRICS instead of the EU. Obradoviàalleged that regions such as Sandà ¾ak, Vojvodina, and parts of eastern Serbia would separate from Serbia if "Serbia gives up on Kosovo" (ako se odrekne Kosova). ÃÂurÃÂeviàStamenkovski, in an Insajder interview, did not reject cooperating with SNS after the elections if SNS rejects the Ohrid Agreement. NO held its last campaign convention on 10 December.
Opinion polling for the 2023 parliamentary election in Serbia was conducted by various monitoring and research organisations such as Demostat, NSPM, Agency Faktor Plus, à  ta Srbija misli?/New Third Way, Stata Agency, and CRTA. Stata Agency has also published scenario polls, featuring a SNSâÂÂSPS alliance, the Serbia Against Violence (SPN) coalition, and the "state-building opposition" before the official creation of SPN; Vukadinoviàof NSPM criticised Stata's scenario polls, saying that the coalition "Serbia Against Violence is not exactly a fiction, then, for now, only a projection and, possibly, the desire of some media and political factors. It is difficult to compare something that actually exists with something that could possibly be" (Srbija protiv nasilja ako ne baà ¡ fikcija, onda, za sada, samo projekcija i, eventualno, à ¾elja nekih medijskih i politiÃÂkih faktora. Teà ¡ko je porediti neà ¡to à ¡to realno postoji sa neÃÂim à ¡to bi, eventualno, tek moglo biti). AnÃÂelkoviàalso said that "public's pulse is very fluid when the elections are still relatively far away" (pulsa javnosti vrlo fluidna kada su izbori joà ¡ relativno daleko). Besides Stata, CRTA has also published a scenario poll in October 2023.
The Bureau of Social Research (BIRODI) criticised opinion polls for lacking transparency, specifically the omission of key details such as the name of the polling agency, the commissioning party, the sample size, the polling period, and the exact questions asked to respondents, and has called news agencies to not publish those opinion polls. BIRODI stated these organisations "give the opportunity to use opinion polls for propaganda purposes" (daje moguÃÂnost da se istraà ¾ivanja javnog mnjena koriste u propagandne svrhe) and noted that the elements lead to the "deprofessionalisation of a public opinion researcher" (deprofesionalizacije profesije istraà ¾ivaÃÂa javnog mnjenja). SreÃÂko Mihailoviàof Demostat has also stated that most opinion polls in Serbia are "biased and unprofessional" (pristrasna i neprofesionalna), claiming that "clients are political parties and the government, and researchers manipulate the ratings of parties" (naruÃÂioci su politiÃÂke stranke i vlast, a istraà ¾ivaÃÂi manipulià ¡u i sa rejtinzima stranaka) in opinion polls. The World Association for Public Opinion Research, an international professional association of opinion poll researchers, has listed Serbia as a country where there is a denial of the right to public opinion research, stating that "there is pressure from the government, politicians, and some media" (na njih vrà ¡i pritisak od strane vlade, politiÃÂara ali i pojedinih medija).
The graph below showcases major parties and alliances in opinion polls from the 2022 parliamentary election to 17 December 2023.
On election day, 17 December, voting stations were opened from 07:00 to 20:00. Monitoring and NGOs, such as CeSID and CRTA, reported that the election day was marked with electoral fraud. By 09:00, CeSID had reported over 50 irregularities, including procedural violations by election committee members and voters photographing or recording their ballots. Kreni-Promeni also reported irregularities, including the use of the "Bulgarian train" vote-rigging method at polling stations in New Belgrade. Nedeljkov from CRTA also reported that in Odà ¾aci CRTA observers were physically attacked and that their cars sustained damage from the attackers. In Odà ¾aci, CRTA observers reported an instance of a Bulgarian train. Throughout the rest of the election day, CeSID continued to report more irregularities and intimidation. Parandiloviàfrom SPN also published a video in which two Priboj councillor candidates were spotted rigging election ballots.
Voters from Republika Srpska were also driven to the à  tark Arena in Belgrade. Despite à  tark Arena not being a voting station, voters from Republika Srpska confirmed that the Arena was used illegally as a voting station and as a redirect station towards official voting stations in Belgrade. The security at the à  tark Arena did not allow members of RIK to enter the building. Brnabiàsaid that she did not see what was irregular or illegal with the à  tark Arena serving as a redirect station for voters from Republika Srpska. Miodrag JovanoviÃÂ, a professor at the Faculty of Law, said that in regards to the Arena and the phantom voters (fantomski glasaÃÂi), "it is illegal for someone to have a residence where he does not live" (zabranjeno da neko ima prebivalià ¡te tamo gde ne à ¾ivi).
In its report, ODIHR concluded that SNS had a "systematic advantage which created unfair conditions in the elections" (sistematsku prednost koja je stvorila nepravedne uslove) and that VuÃÂiÃÂ heavily dominated the election campaign, despite not being a candidate in it. According to ODIHR, there was abuse of public funds, and the media monitoring body, Regulatory Body for Electronic Media, was also not efficient during the election campaign, and that despite the elections being well organised, they were organised in a "societal and political divided ambience". ODIHR said that the campaign was polarised and met with negative campaigning and fearmongering. The Federal Foreign Office of Germany said that abuse of public funds, fearmongering of voters, and vote buying is "unacceptable for a country with the status of a candidate for EU membership".
, the chief of the delegation of PACE that monitored the elections, said that "the elections were not fair" and that he had seen "ballots that were printed by a photocopier". In a joint statement, Josep Borrell and Olivér Várhelyi, on behalf of the European Commission, said that Serbia's "electoral process requires tangible improvement and further reform". Political scientist Florian Bieber said that "irregularities appeared to be more widespread than in previous [elections]". Matthew Miller, the spokesperson of the United States Department of State, called for the government of Serbia to investigate the irregularities that occurred. United States senators Jeanne Shaheen and Pete Ricketts also called for the government to "urgently consider whether elections should be repeated in certain regions", saying that the elections were not free and fair. Andreas Schieder, who monitored the elections on behalf of the European Parliament, criticised BrnabiÃÂ, saying that "the government should work on solving numerous claims about pressure on voters, vote buying, violating voting secrecy, biased media, and the president's involvement in the campaign".
VuÃÂiàand SNS denied all of the electoral fraud allegations. Brnabiàaccused the opposition and CRTA of "destabilising Serbia and its constitutional order" (destabilizuju zemlju i uruà ¡e ustavni poredak) and verbally attacked Schennach and Schieder for their criticism of the election conduct.
There were 6,500,666 citizens in total who had the right to vote in the parliamentary election. Out of 8,273 voting stations in total, voters abroad could vote at 81 voting stations in 35 different countries, while 32,216 dual citizens registered to take part in the elections abroad. In Canada, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States, voting occurred on 16 December from 07:00 to 20:00. Elections were repeated at 30 voting stations in 19 different municipalities on 30 December.
After the voting stations were closed, CeSID/Ipsos and CRTA were the first to report their projections of the results. According to the 18 December projection from CeSID/Ipsos, SNS won 46% of popular vote and 128 seats in the National Assembly, successfully returning its parliamentary majority, while SPN placed second, with 23.6% of popular vote and 65 seats in the National Assembly. According to CeSID/Ipsos, SPS only won 6% of popular vote and 18 seats in the National Assembly, this being the worst result of SPS since the 2007 parliamentary election, while NADA won 4.9% of popular vote. In a surprise move, NestoroviÃÂ's MIâÂÂGIN also crossed the threshold, winning 13 seats in total. Out of the minority lists, VMSZ won 6 seats, SPPâÂÂDSHV won 3 seats, SDAS won 2 seats, and SDAS and Russian Party won one seat respectively. The NO coalition of Dveri and SSZ failed to cross the threshold, winning only 2.8% of popular vote. SNS received the most votes abroad.
RIK broadcast the results live, with the results being updated every 5 minutes. RIK published the final results on 12 January. After the overall election report was published, RIK allocated the National Assembly seats to the candidates within ten days.
SNS proclaimed victory after the voting stations were closed. SNS was congratulated by DaÃÂiàand Milorad Dodik, the president of Republika Srpska, and Katalin Novák, the president of Hungary. VuÃÂiàalleged that a "an important country intervened in the election process of Serbia in the most brutal way" (jedne vaà ¾ne zemlje u izborni proces Srbije na najbrutalniji naÃÂin).
Nestoroviàof MIâÂÂGIN said that "even though no one gave us a chance, we became one of the four or five strongest parties" (iako im niko nije davao à ¡anse, uà ¡li u krug ÃÂetiri, pet najjaÃÂih partija); he rejected cooperating with SNS or SPN after the elections. Danas newspaper described Nestoroviàas "the biggest surprise" (najveÃÂe iznaneÃÂenje) of the 2023 elections. At a SPS press conference, DaÃÂiàwas dissatisfied with the result. Pásztor said that VMSZ "achieved the election result that we wanted" (rezultat kakav smo à ¾eleli) and they were ready to join the next SNS-led government.
Miloà ¡ Beà ¡iÃÂ, a professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences, said that the society in Serbia "is even more divided after the elections" (druà ¡tvo podeljenije nego pre izbora) and argued that "the failure of right-wing parties is one of the main impressions of the voting results" (neuspeh desnice jedan od glavnih utisaka rezultata glasanja). Beà ¡iàalso said that the attacks of SNS on SPS during the election campaign was also shown during the election day, due to the decrease in support of SPS and an increase in support of SNS. He, however, noted that both SNS and SPS combined won fewer votes than in the 2022 election.
Due to their failure to secure parliamentary representation, ObradoviÃÂ of Dveri and all members of the presidency of Narodna, including president JeremiÃÂ, resigned from their positions.
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and Danas newspaper reported in early December that on 22 September, VuÃÂiàsigned an agreement with the European Commission on the production of lithium batteries in Serbia. The government of Serbia previously cancelled the Rio Tinto lithium mine project in January 2022, amidst the environmental protests, but the EIU reported that in the September 2023 agreement "the government [of Serbia] has not given up on a plan to allow the mining of lithium at Jadar". The agreement also includes a construction of another factory in ÃÂuprija. EIU stated that due to the 2023 parliamentary election, "the government is likely to stall the plans, reviving them only once the December election is over". In June 2024, Financial Times published an article regarding the topic, revealing that Serbia would "give green light to Rio Tinto" and its Project Jadar. Neue Zürcher Zeitung revealed the same. In July 2024, the government revived the Jadar project, which resulted in a series of environmental protests.
Following the elections on 17 December, SPN began organising protests outside the RIK building. At the 18 December protest, Aleksiàand Tepiàannounced that they would go on a hunger strike until the results of the Belgrade City Assembly elections are annulled. SPN expanded their demands on 20 December by demanding the annulment of all 17 December election results. Alongside SPN, NADA, Narodna, SDS, and Dveri also expressed their support for the annulment of 17 December election results and the scheduling of a new ones. On 21 December, members of the National Assembly Jelena Miloà ¡eviàand Danijela Grujiàjoined Aleksiàand Tepiàin their hunger strike. A day later, Janko Veselinoviàand à ½eljko Veselinoviàalso began their hunger strike, while on 23 December MPs-elect Branko Miljuà ¡ and Duà ¡an Nikeziàbegan their hunger strike.
After an attempt by politicians to enter the City Assembly of Belgrade, a riot occurred which resulted in an arrest of 38 demonstrators. Protests continued up to 30 December, at which point the hunger strike ended. The protests were strongly criticised by the government, with Brnabiàand Aleksandar à  apiÃÂ, the former mayor of Belgrade, comparing the protests to Euromaidan. Russia also alleged that Western powers were involved in the protests.
On several occasions, DaÃÂiàexpressed his support for continuing to work with SNS after the 2023 election. In October, DaÃÂiàhad said: "I am convinced that we will continue cooperation even after the victory in the December elections, in the interest of Serbia, and a better future for all the citizens of our country, as well as the Serbian people as a whole" (Uveren sam da ÃÂemo takvu saradnju nastaviti i posle pobede na decembarskim izborima, u interesu Srbije i bolje buduÃÂnosti svih graÃÂana naà ¡e zemlje, kao i srpskog naroda u celini). In a November interview with Insajder, DaÃÂiàsaid that the goal of SPS is "to win a parliamentary majority, together with SNS, because we alone cannot have a majority" (Naà ¡ politiÃÂki cilj je da osvojimo veÃÂinu, zajedno sa SNS-om, jer mi sami ne moà ¾emo da imamo veÃÂinu) and that "the best solution for Serbia is [...] that VuÃÂiàshould be president [...] and Daciàshould be prime minister" (najbolje reà ¡enje za Srbiju [...] VuÃÂiàda bude predsednik [...] [i] DaÃÂiàpremijer). DaÃÂiàlater said, in regards to SNS forming a government with SPS, that "[SPS] wants [to be in the government], but if they do not want us, then there is no problem" (Mi hoÃÂemo, ako oni ne à ¾ele, nikakav problem nije); he has also criticised opposition parties and described them as "a big fraud called DOS" (velika prevara koju on naziva DOS-om). Other SPS politicians, like Paunoviàand Toma Fila, expressed their support for continuing to work with SNS after the elections.
Despite taking part with SNS in the Belgrade City assembly election, VuÃÂiàsaid that the next government would not include SRS due to having policy disagreements, naming the EU as an example. VuÃÂiàalso expressed doubts in SPS during the campaign period, while Brnabiàcriticised SPS officials such as Ruà ¾iÃÂ, her former cabinet minister. VuÃÂeviàalso said that "there are no guarantees that SPS will ... switch to the other side" (nemamo garancije da SPS neÃÂe promeniti stranu). Duà ¡an SpasojeviÃÂ, a Faculty of Political Sciences professor, said that the "attacks on SPS are aimed to win back part of the voters who voted for the Socialists in the last elections, and perhaps to take over part of their voting base" (Napadi na SPS imaju za cilj da povrate deo biraÃÂa koji je na proà ¡lim izborima glasao za socijaliste, a moà ¾da i da preuzmu deo njihove baze). Popoviàof the Centre for Practical Politics argued the same.
The constitutive session of the 14th National Assembly of Serbia took place on 6 February. A month later, BrnabiÃÂ was elected president of the National Assembly. After several months of negotiations, VuÃÂeviÃÂ was given the mandate to form a government, after which he formed a government on 2 May. Besides SNS and SPS, his cabinet also included ÃÂurÃÂeviÃÂ Stamenkovski of SSZ that failed to gain representation in the National Assembly.