Over the weekend, local elections were held in 10 municipalities across Serbia.
While the lists led by Aleksandar Vučić formally won in all of them, this is a victory that raises again and again serious concerns about the integrity of the process.
The entire state apparatus was mobilized in what can only be described as a full-scale “incumbent campaign” — with intense pressure on public sector employees, widespread reports of vote-buying, and promises of targeted benefits as if governance applied only to these municipalities.
Election day itself was marked by disturbing scenes of violence, including physical clashes, further undermining citizens’ ability to freely express their will.
And yet, despite all of this, opposition lists recorded a significant increase in support compared to previous elections — in many places reaching near parity with the ruling party.
This leads to an important conclusion:
If power is barely maintained under such conditions, even in strongholds, the prospects for change at the next parliamentary elections become much more real.
At the same time, we are living through a period that has exposed many of the weaknesses of democracy — a system too often served as fast food to populists. And yet, people who aspire to live in free, modern democratic societies continue to resist these pressures and fight to ensure that democracy is not pushed to the margins of history.
Today, in Aranđelovac, Bajina Bašta, Bor, Kladovo, Knjaževac, Kula, Lučani, Majdanpek, Sevojno, and Smederevska Palanka, these defenders of democracy stood up — courageously facing those who seek to capture the state.
They are part of a broader, global force striving to reclaim freedom from the darkness that exploits democratic processes to hollow democracy out from within.
There is a broader lesson here. Even elected authoritarian systems have limits. No matter how much pressure is applied or resources are spent to maintain control, political change remains possible.
The democratic will of citizens may be suppressed — but not indefinitely.
