SERBIA: Anti-government protests
Given the lack of opposition in the national assembly and the inability to express dissent through most media, street protest became one of the few means of holding the government to account. In July, pent-up pressure broke when the government’s announcement of the reintroduction of a curfew brought spontaneous demonstrations in the capital, Belgrade, which quickly grew in numbers to become a mass protest that lasted for several days and spread to other cities. The state’s response was violence and disinformation.
The protests that came after the elections seem to point towards further political polarisation and a deepening of the political crisis, as a large number of people lack representation and feel deprived of the right to elect their representatives without fear through free and democratic elections.
Ivana Teofilović
