Half Million Serbian Voter Records Missing Street Details Before October Vote

Voters in Serbia face a critical test of their electoral data two days before ballots are cast.

RFE/RL investigators found approximately 500,000 registered voters lacking complete address information. These records often omit street names or house numbers. Hundreds more are listed at public facilities like social welfare centers or at addresses that cannot physically hold so many people. The number of eligible voters in Bosnia and Kosovo increased ahead of the vote, regions where ethnic Serbs often support the ruling party.

Aleksandar Vucic, who has led Serbian politics for fourteen years, is seeking the prime minister role. He stepped down as president in late September to avoid a third term. He previously held the premiership from 2014 to 2017. His ruling party faces a challenge from an opposition movement born out of student protests. Vladimir Bilcik, a former European Parliament rapporteur for Serbia, described this as the first election in over a decade with a genuinely uncertain outcome. The student list is headed by cardiologist Ilija Srdanovic, a nonpartisan figure, and consists largely of university professors.

The campaign is marked by intense scrutiny over the fairness of the vote. In 2023, international observers reported irregularities including the transport of voters from neighboring Bosnia-Hercegovina and instances of intimidation. The government claims it has implemented all recommendations from the OSCE mission that criticized that election. However, an interim report from the OSCE contradicted this assertion. The organization has deployed 300 observers to Serbia for the current contest. Four employees of Serbia-funded institutions in Kosovo told RFE/RL they faced pressure to vote for the ruling party, a practice also documented in several Serbian municipalities.

The election takes place just days before the second anniversary of the Novi Sad tragedy. On November 1, 2024, a renovated canopy at the railway station collapsed, killing sixteen people. The disaster triggered nationwide protests fueled by allegations of corruption at the construction site, a flagship project led by Chinese businesses. Authorities met the protests with police force and arrests. On March 15, 2025, authorities allegedly deployed an unlawful sonic weapon against peaceful demonstrators. Vucic announced his resignation and scheduled these early elections following another student protest in June.

Allegations of illegal surveillance add to the tension. A statement from the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on October 21 cited reports of illegal monitoring of opposition members. Research by the Serbian nonprofit SHARE and Toronto University researchers alleged that at least sixteen cases of the Pegasus surveillance software, which is illegal in Serbia, were used in 2026. Government officials have denied targeting their political rivals, while the opposition blames the authorities for the spying.

International observers have noted a decline in freedoms in Serbia over the past decade. Freedom House’s latest report confirmed this trend. Some US lawmakers warned that Moscow may play an active role in the election. European Parliament members raised concerns about Russian influence operations. Republican Congressman Joe Wilson stated that Russia is deploying resources to monitor and disrupt Serbian citizens and the student movement. Russian President Vladimir Putin has personally expressed support for Vucic ahead of the vote.

During the campaign, Vucic pledged to maintain his foreign policy course, including his refusal to follow EU calls for sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. The student movement has focused primarily on fighting corruption. It has also opposed sanctions and reiterated support for Belgrade’s stance of not recognizing Kosovo’s independence. Serbia’s progress in EU integration has stalled, with no new accession chapter opened since late 2021. Democratic backsliding, unresolved relations with Kosovo, and the refusal to sanction Russia are cited as the main reasons for this impasse.