The 2022 elections in Serbia have not produced surprising results, nor led to changes of government at any level, with the ruling Serbian Progressive Party maintaining its dominance of Serbian politics. The elections were, however, important, as a point in which the opposition parties ended the boycott of democratic institutions and returned to the parliament. In this election analysis, we describe the political context of the elections, marked by the long-term democratic backsliding, the Covid-19 pandemic measures, the constitutional referendum, mass environmental protest mobilization, and finally the invasion of Ukraine. We explain the ways in which the institutional framework for holding elections has changed and also what has remained unchanged, and how these circumstances affected the candidates and their campaigns. We provide an overview of opinion polls before election day, as well as results of parliamentary, presidential, and Belgrade city elections, and then discuss the election outcomes. The analysis concludes with an overview of post-election political dynamics and discusses possibilities for the opposition parties after their return to the aforementioned representative bodies.
Gazela Pudar Draško is a Senior Research Fellow and Director at the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade. As a political sociologist, she has been a consultant and researcher in numerous projects with international organizations like UNDP, UNHCR, Council of Europe, Westminster Foundation for Democracy, etc. She writes on social engagement, particularly intellectuals, participatory innovations and social movements.
Vujo Ilić
Vujo Ilić is a Researcher at the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade, and a Policy and Research Advisor at Crta, a Belgrade-based election-monitoring organization. He received his PhD in Political Science from the Central European University in Budapest. His research is focused on democracy and elections, as well as political conflicts and violence in Southeastern Europe.