Police in Serbia fire tear gas at election protesters threatening to storm capital’s city hall
BELGRADE, Serbia — Police in Serbia fired tear gas to prevent hundreds of opposition supporters from entering the capital’s city council building Sunday in protest of what election observers said were widespread vote irregularities during a general election last weekend.
The country’s populist authorities have denied rigging the vote and described the election to fill parliament and local offices as fair. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said Sunday that those claims were blatant ”lies” promoted by the political opposition.
Vucic also suggested the unrest was instigated from abroad. Addressing the nation during the protest outside Belgrade city hall, he called the demonstrators “thugs” who would not succeed in destabilizing the state and said, “This is not a revolution.”
“They will not succeed,” Vucic said. “We are doing our best with our calm and mild reaction not to hurt demonstrators” who came to the event to protest peacefully.
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Shielded riot police barricaded themselves inside the city government building, firing tear gas as hundreds of opposition protesters broke windows at the entrance.
The protesters shouted, “Open the door” and “Thieves,” as they pelted the building with eggs. Some chanted, “Vucic is Putin,” comparing the Serbian president with Russia’s leader.
There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Results from the Dec. 17 election showed victory for Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party in both the parliamentary and Belgrade city ballots. The party’s main opponent, the Serbia Against Violence alliance, said it was robbed of a win, especially in Belgrade.
The vote has caused political tensions in the troubled Balkan nation, which is seeking close ties with Russia but also European Union membership.
Serbia Against Violence said in a letter sent Thursday to EU institutions, officials and member nations that it would not recognize the outcome of the elections.
The alliance called on the EU to do the same and to initiate an investigation.
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