Serbia opposition urges EU to help open international probe into disputed vote after fraud claims

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s main opposition group on Thursday urged the European Union to help open an international investigation into reported irregularities during last weekend’s election. The inconsistencies have caused political tensions in the troubled Balkan nation seeking EU membership.

The Serbia Against Violence group said in a letter to EU institutions, officials and member states that they won’t recognize the outcome of last Sunday’s parliamentary and local election. They called on the EU to do the same and initiate the inquiry.

Under President Aleksandar Vucic, Serbia became a candidate for EU membership, but the opposition accuses the bloc of turning a blind eye to democratic shortcomings in return for stability in the Balkan region, still troubled after the wars of the 1990s.

“The European Union now has a big chance to restore the trust of the citizens of Serbia,” Dragan Djilas, one of the leaders of the SPN coalition told The Associated Press.

Djilas said election irregularities included media bias, false signatures on voters’ lists, vote-buying and voter migration, including busing in people from neighboring Bosnia to vote in Belgrade. Opposition leaders have charged that some 40,000 people were brought in on election day.

“The (election) will of the people of Belgrade has been absolutely betrayed while the result of the parliamentary election is not in line with the will of the people of Serbia,” Djilas said. “I think it is of utmost importance for both Serbia and the entire region to finally bring democracy into this country.”

Early results showed victory for Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party in both ballots. But the Serbia Against Violence alliance says they were robbed of a win in Belgrade.

Vucic and other ruling party officials denied the claims of vote rigging and said they would do everything to “defend the election will of the people.”

Vucic said Thursday that authorities in Serbia are compiling “an important letter about the interference of an important country in the electoral process of Serbia in the most brutal way.” He didn’t specify which country.

Serbia Against Violence have demanded that the election be annulled and rerun. Thousands of people have rallied in Belgrade to protest the alleged vote theft since Monday.

In their preliminary statement, an observation mission made up of representatives of international rights watchdogs also reported multiple irregularities and unjust conditions for the participants because of media bias, abuse of public resources and presidential dominance during the campaign.

Serious irregularities included cases of buying votes and the stuffing of ballot boxes, according to joint conclusions by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament.

EU Commission officials earlier this week noted “with concern” that Serbia’s electoral process “requires tangible improvement” and urged that “credible reports of irregularities” be looked into.

In the letter, Serbia Against Violence called on the EU to “not recognize the results of the parliamentary, provincial and especially local elections in Serbia, until a full international investigation into the electoral irregularities is completed.”

They added that the EU should initiate the investigation and later help form a verification committee that would oversee the preparation of a next election and make sure international recommendations are fully applied to ensure a free and fair vote.

There was no immediate reaction from the EU to the letter. It was addressed to the president and members of the European Parliament, the presidents of the European Council and the European Commission, the foreign affairs chief and committees and representatives of the EU’s 27 member states.

Serbia Against Violence includes parties that were behind months of street protests this year triggered by back-to-back mass shootings in May.

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Associated Press writer Dusan Stojanovic contributed to this report.

Jovana Gec, The Associated Press