Three steps Serbia's opposition must take to defeat Vučić’s regime

The widespread protests against Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić seem to be reaching a tipping point, suggests Filip Milačić, Senior Fellow at the Democracy of the Future office of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.

In his view, to defeat the regime at the ballot box, the opposition must develop effective ways to counter electoral manipulation, outline a compelling vision for Serbia’s future, and develop closer ties to European leaders.

Read more in the column by Filip Milačić: Serbia has a chance for success: what could bring an end to Vučić’s authoritarian rule

Serbia was gripped by protests after the collapse of a canopy at the railway station in Novi Sad, Serbia’s second-largest city, killed 15 people (another person died in March from injuries sustained in the accident).

The columnist points out that recently large-scale student protests escalated into violence.

Dozens of protesters have been injured in clashes with police and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić’s loyalists, while hundreds more have been detained.

"Despite initially keeping their distance from politics, student protesters are now demanding early parliamentary elections," writes Filip Milačić.

He suggests that Vučić and the SNS seem to be slowly acquiescing to the students’ demands, with several Serbian media outlets recently reporting that elections might be held by year’s end.

The Democracy of the Future fellow emphasises that to prepare for that possibility, the opposition must change its approach – prevailing in the electoral arena is not the same as mobilising in the streets.

First, according to the author, the Serbian opposition must therefore develop creative and effective ways to counter the regime’s electoral manipulation.

"To ensure that the next election is as competitive as possible, the protesters must work with civil-society organisations to expose electoral violations early and often," he recommends.

Second, the opposition should outline a compelling vision for the future, rather than merely emphasising the shortcomings of the Vučić regime, which has remained in power since 2012 largely because of the president’s appeal to ethnonationalism.

Third, the opposition should prepare for the possibility that it will need to defend its electoral victory in the streets.

"That means beginning to campaign now in European capitals to ensure that Serbia’s democratic allies do not recognise a stolen election. The opinions of European officials carry significant weight among Serbia’s government and business leaders, because its economy is so dependent on European Union trade and investment," writes the Democracy of the Future fellow of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.