Overview
- The government formally proposed dissolving parliament on Monday, with Prime Minister Djuro Macut opening the procedure that paves the way for an early parliamentary election.
- The ruling Serbian Progressive Party has nominated President Aleksandar Vucic to run for prime minister and Vucic has said he would resign the presidency to join the campaign with a likely October date mentioned by him.
- The snap vote is widely seen as a bid to consolidate Vucic’s control after nearly two years of anti-corruption protests that began after a Novi Sad rail station canopy collapse killed 16 people.
- Opponents and demonstrators accuse Vucic and his allies of corruption, links to organised crime, violence against opponents and curbs on media freedom, accusations the president denies and that have drawn concern from the European Union.
- Watch for Vucic’s formal election date, the composition of a student-backed parliamentary list that may include professors, and whether the vote deepens Serbia’s domestic divisions and affects its stalled EU accession and ties with Russia and China.