Serbia Repoll Underway at 53 Stations Following Early Parliamentary Vote

Belgrade, November 1: Serbia's repeat voting for the early parliamentary elections of October 25 got under way on Sunday at 53 polling stations, according to the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK).

The commission had directed a fresh vote at 31 stations where results could not be determined. Another 22 stations had their polling cancelled, and voting was therefore held again at those centres.

Preliminary tallies announced on Monday, covering 8,187 of the 8,392 polling stations, indicated that the student-supported 'Student List - Students Are Winning' coalition had received 52.71 percent of the votes. The 'Aleksandar Vucic - United Serbia' list, which is led by the Serbian Progressive Party, took 39.17 percent.

The early parliamentary elections saw 2,418 candidates from 18 electoral lists compete for 250 seats in the National Assembly. About 64.5 lakh (6.45 million) voters were registered, and 8,392 polling stations were established across the country.

According to Serbia's Constitution, the formation of a new government will start once the new National Assembly is constituted. After parliament elects a new speaker, that speaker, who is presently also acting president, will put forward a candidate for prime minister.

The prime ministerial nominee will then need to present a government programme and a list of proposed ministers before parliament. Backing from a majority of the National Assembly's members is required to form the government.

Vucic had agreed on September 5 to lead the Serbian Progressive Party's parliamentary list and stand as its prime ministerial candidate. On September 9, he ordered the dissolution of parliament and announced early elections for October 25.

Vucic resigned from the presidency on September 27, and National Assembly Speaker Ana Brnabic became acting president. Serbian law also mandates that a presidential election be held by the end of December.