Serbia police detain not less than 38 individuals as opposition plans extra protests in opposition to election outcomes

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbian police mentioned Monday they’ve detained not less than 38 individuals who took half in a protest in opposition to reported widespread irregularities throughout a latest common poll that declared the governing populists as winners of the parliamentary and native councils’ elections.

Opposition group Serbia Against Violence has been staging protests for the reason that Dec. 17 elections, saying there was election fraud, significantly within the capital, Belgrade. Some politicians started a starvation strike.

On Sunday night, a whole bunch of protesters tried to enter Belgrade‘s city council, breaking windows, before riot police pushed them back using tear gas, pepper spray and batons.

Senior police official Ivica Ivkovic told reporters that those detained were facing charges of inciting violent change of constitutional order — in reference to attempting to overthrow the government — and violent behavior. He added that eight officers were injured, several of them seriously.

The opposition said that police beat up some of its supporters.

With more protests planned for later on Monday, police warned they wouldn’t permit roads or bridges to be blocked within the capital.

Police “are ready and capable of countering any acts of violence with determination,” Ivkovic mentioned.

The nation’s Serbian Progressive Party has denied rigging the vote and described the elections as truthful regardless of criticism from worldwide displays and native election observers.

President Aleksandar Vučić described Sunday’s protests as an try and overthrow the federal government with assist from overseas, with out specifying what he meant. Serbia’s Prime Minister Ana Brnabić thanked Russia late Sunday for tipping off Serbia prematurely of violent protests in opposition to the election outcomes.

Vučić has “irrefutable evidence” that the West is encouraging the opposition protests, Russian Ambassador Aleksandr Botsan-Kharchenko instructed Russian media after assembly with Vučić on Monday.

Serbia is formally searching for membership within the European Union, however the Balkan nation has maintained shut ties with Moscow and has refused to hitch Western sanctions imposed on Russia over the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Vučić’s occasion claimed victory in each the parliamentary and Belgrade metropolis ballots elections. Serbia Against Violence, the governing occasion’s fundamental contender, mentioned that it was robbed of a win, particularly in Belgrade.

Representatives of a number of worldwide rights watchdogs observing the elections reported a number of irregularities through the vote, together with instances of purchased votes and ballot-box stuffing. They additionally famous unjust circumstances for opposition candidates due to media bias, abuse of public assets by the ruling occasion, and Vučić dominating the ruling occasion’s marketing campaign and media time allotted for candidates regardless of not participating within the elections himself.

Serbia Against Violence mentioned Thursday in a letter despatched to EU establishments, officers and member nations that it wouldn’t acknowledge the elections’ final result. The alliance known as on the EU to do the identical and to provoke an investigation into the outcomes.

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Dusan Stojanovic contributed to this story.