Arrests, resignations, changes of sides, attempts to destroy evidence of irregularities.
The news has come at such a pace after the electoral defeat of the former Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic On October 25, a website dubbed “system crash” was created, in which a artificial intelligence (AI) incorporates information in real time.
From high school students accusing their principal of throwing away paperwork to the closure of a bank linked by local media to Vucic’s now-dislodged Serbian Progressive Party, the turn of events has kept the Serbian public in suspense in the week after the election.
The somewhat chaotic reports are seen as a sign that Vucic’s carefully constructed power system is rapidly collapsing. after the surprising victory of a student movement in the early parliamentary elections.
The winners of the Student List have not yet formally assumed power in the government administration, security agencies and the military. But the seismic shift in the balance of power is pushing events to unfold before the effective takeover occurs.
Vucic says he is not afraid, accuses election winners of “terror”
Despite the electoral defeat, a defiant Vucic – now described as an opposition leader – has continued his daily appearances in related media.accusing the student-led movement of “revolutionary terror” and vowing to fight back.
Vucic told Pink television on Sunday night that “naturally, this is hard for my family and those who love me, but I am ready for anything and I will resist anything.” Denying links to crimes, Vucic stated that he does not fear possible arrest because there will be no evidence against him.
“I don’t sign anything… and nothing will be found,” he said. “They have nothing.”
Some prominent figures have been arrested
Among the officials imprisoned so far are the head of the Vucic criminal police, Marko Kricakand another senior police official, both suspected of abuse of authority in relation to a high-profile murder investigation.
Kricak was known for allegations that he threatened to rape a student during anti-government protests.but he was not imprisoned for those complaints.
Authorities also detained on Monday Davor Macura, owner of the private bank Alta Bank, whose license has been revoked. Macura is suspected of trying to take millions of dollars from the bank’s vault and faces charges of abuse of authority, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors asked to start work or resign
While they wait to form the new government, the election winners have urged prosecutors and judges to start doing their jobs or resign.
Dozens of investigations into alleged cases of corruption at the highest levels were left unfinished under the previous governmentincluding one about the Nov. 1, 2024, train station tragedy that sparked two years of student-led anti-corruption protests.
Now, the Serbian public is waiting to know what will result from a review of some of those long-running investigations after the student movement promised that there will no longer be untouchable officials.
In a statement on Tuesday, The Belgrade High Prosecutor’s Office complained of “an atmosphere of persecution and lynching” after the elections, along with “open political pressure from some social and political actors”.
The statement indicated that the alleged pressure was designed to force resignations and that the mission of the European Union in Belgrade and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe have been informed.
New complaints accumulate
Prosecutors have been overwhelmed by new complaints about incidents ranging from alleged electoral fraud to threats and violence against protesters, journalists and activists. Organized crime prosecutors also launched proceedings to determine whether any of them had been subjected to illegal surveillance.
On Monday, the lawyer Ivan Ninic denounced a “criminal conspiracy” in which an official from the Ministry of Justice and more than three dozen prison directors throughout Serbia would be involved.claiming that they pressured or bribed inmates to vote for Vucic in last week’s election.
Ninic presented what he claimed were screenshots of online chats, where officials shared information about how many votes they managed to gather. Vucic’s SNS won overwhelmingly in Serbia’s prisons.
In Mali Zvornikon the border with Bosniapolice arrested six people accused of issuing false residency documents to Bosnian citizens so they could vote for Vucic’s party in the elections.
The changes began through the media
Some of Serbia’s major media outlets that were at the forefront of Vucic’s propaganda machine have been the first to rearrange themselves.
Previously staunchly pro-Vucic outlets quickly adopted a more neutral stance, while some television channels canceled parts of their programs entirely and their owners reportedly fled the country. State television RTS renewed its management and apologized to its viewers for unprofessional coverage.
But some of Vucic’s main speakers, such as the Informer and Pink media, remain loyal and feature the former leader daily on their programs.
Vucic’s party faces pressure in cities and towns across the country
The elections were for the 250-member Serbian Parliament and did not include local governments throughout the country. Now, calls are increasing to hold early municipal elections.
Vucic’s SNS lost in the capital Belgrade and most other cities, having previously controlled the country down to the last village, with the exception of an urban municipality in the southern city of Nis.
Throughout Serbia, employees of theaters, museums, cultural associations, schools and hospitals demand that managers appointed by the SNS resign immediately.
In Belgrade, the director of the Fifth Secondary School, Ognjen Mrvaljevic, denied that he was throwing away relevant school documentation, N1 television reported. He said in comments reported by local media that he was just getting rid of unnecessary papers.
The “expiration date” of Vucic’s game “has already passed,” said analyst Slobodan Stupar. “Everything will fall like dominoes.”