Serbia to Lower Election Threshold for Parties in Spring Vote

(Bloomberg) -- Serbia may change its election rules ahead of spring parliamentary elections to help smaller political groups gain seats in the assembly after some opposition parties said the would boycott the ballot.

The change will reduce the threshold to 3% of votes cast from 5%, President Aleksandar Vucic said on his website late Sunday. Polls show strong support for the president’s ruling Serbian Progressive Party and its coalition allies, a dominance criticized for its control of media outlets. That has prompted opposition calls to sit out the vote until conditions are in place for free and fair campaigns.

“It will bring back life to the parliament,” Vucic said of the planned change, referring also to an ongoing boycott of assembly sessions by mainstream opposition parties. “It will restore normalcy in Serbia.”

Representatives of the European Parliament have sought to mediate between the ruling and opposition groups to avert the possible boycott. By law, the elections must take place by June, when lawmakers’ mandates expire.

The Progressives won a majority in the previous ballot in 2016 on a pledge to lead the country of 7.2 million into the European Union in the next decade. They’ve remained the most popular party despite accusations of undemocratic behavior, which Vucic and his party have denied. He also denounced months of weekly street protests against his rule.

To contact the reporter on this story: Misha Savic in Belgrade at msavic2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Irina Vilcu at isavu@bloomberg.net, Andrea Dudik, Michael Winfrey

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