Election silence begins in Serbia ahead of the early parliamentary elections on Sunday, October 25. The ban came into effect at midnight on Friday and will last until the closing of polling stations at 8:00 p.m. local time on election day.
During this period, campaigning, public presentation of candidates and programs on election lists, as well as calls to citizens to vote or not to vote for a particular list are prohibited. Predictions of election results cannot be published in the media or at public events. The restrictions apply until the end of voting on Sunday, not just for the last 48 hours before election day.
Fines for violating the ban
According to the rules cited by the Serbian media N1, legal entities that violate the election silence can be fined between 100,000 and 600,000 dinars. For responsible persons in the media, sanctions of 50,000 to 150,000 dinars are provided, and for responsible persons in legal entities - from 20,000 to 50,000 dinars. Fines for individuals are between 10,000 and 40,000 dinars.
In the parliamentary vote, 18 electoral lists are competing for 250 seats in the Assembly of Serbia. Among them are the lists around the Serbian Progressive Party and Aleksandar Vucic, the student list "Students Win", the coalition around the Socialist Party of Serbia and other formations, including representatives of minorities.
Voting ends on Sunday evening
The snap elections were scheduled by President Aleksandar Vucic for October 25 after a decision to dissolve parliament. The vote is taking place against the backdrop of nearly two years of protests and increased political opposition in the country.
Resigned Prime Minister Djuro Mazut said that "nothing that could disrupt public order and peace in the country on election day should happen". After the end of voting, the first evaluations of the results are expected, and the official count will be carried out by the election administration.
Sources: n1info.rs, tanjug.rs, apnews.com