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Detentions and resignations follow Vucic's election defeat in Serbia

After a student-led list won the Oct. 25 vote, Vucic accuses the winners of "revolutionary terror" and says he is not afraid of arrest.

4 news outlets reported this
Liberal1 outletVucic's power system collapsing after the student victoryCenter2 outletsArrests, probes and prosecutors' complaint after the voteConservative1 outletWebsite logging news after Vucic's electoral defeat
Published 3 min read
Overview

Serbia has seen a wave of detentions, resignations and new investigations since Aleksandar Vucic lost the early parliamentary election on Oct. 25 to a student movement's Students' List. The winners have yet to formally take over the government administration, security agencies and army. Vucic, now described as the leader of the opposition, keeps appearing on loyal media and accuses the student-led movement of "revolutionary terror."

On Sunday evening he told Pink TV he is ready for everything and not afraid of possible arrest. Jailed officials include criminal police chief Marko Kricak and another senior police official, suspected of abuse of office in a murder investigation. On Monday authorities detained Davor Macura, owner of Alta Bank, whose license was revoked.

He faces abuse of office charges. Lawyer Ivan Ninic alleged a "criminal conspiracy" to pressure or bribe inmates into voting for Vucic. He said it involved over three dozen prison wardens across the country, along with an official of the justice ministry.

In Mali Zvornik, on the Bosnian border, police detained six people. They are accused of granting false residence papers, so that Bosnian citizens could vote for Vucic's party. State RTS television changed its leadership and apologized to viewers.

The winners, still forming a government, urged prosecutors and judges either to do their work or resign.

Key figures
  • Oct. 25 date of the election Vucic lost — ABC News
  • 250-member size of the parliament that was elected — Courthouse News
  • over three dozen prison wardens in the alleged vote-pressure conspiracy, per lawyer Ivan Ninic — Courthouse News
  • six people detained in Mali Zvornik over false residence papers — ABC News
  • millions of dollars amount Alta Bank's owner allegedly tried to take out — Courthouse News

Three sides of the story

Liberal1 outlet

Vucic's power system collapsing after the student victory

ABC News runs a wire report headlined "Detentions, resignations, probes shake Serbia after students toppled Vucic." It opens with a list: "Detentions, resignations, switching of sides, attempts to destroy evidence of wrongdoing." The report calls the flow of news "somewhat chaotic" and says it is read as a sign that Vucic's carefully built power system is crumbling.

It quotes Vucic on Pink television: "I don't sign anything ... and nothing will be found." It describes Alta Bank, whose license was revoked, as believed linked to Vucic's SNS party, and says its owner Davor Macura was allegedly caught trying to move millions of dollars out of the bank. At a Belgrade school, it says students pulled documents from garbage bins after calling police, while principal Ognjen Mrvaljevic denied throwing away relevant papers.

It ends with analyst Slobodan Stupar: "It will all fall like dominoes."

Center2 outlets

Arrests, probes and prosecutors' complaint after the vote

Courthouse News runs the Associated Press report, headlined "Detentions, resignations, probes shake Serbia after students toppled strongman Vucic in election." It opens with the same list and says many in Serbia see the "somewhat chaotic" reports as a sign that Vucic's power system is falling apart quickly. Subheads such as "Some prominent figures have been detained" organize the arrests, the new complaints and the media shifts.

It adds a Tuesday statement from the Higher Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade, which complained of "an atmosphere of persecution and lynching" and said the EU mission and the OSCE had been informed. It says prosecutors report that Macura is suspected of trying to take millions from the bank's vault. On the school, it says N1 television reported the principal's denial, and local media carried his comment that he was only getting rid of unnecessary papers.

Stupar closes: "It will all fall like dominoes."

Conservative1 outlet

Website logging news after Vucic's electoral defeat

The Washington Times carries the report headlined "Detentions, resignations, probes shake Serbia after students toppled strongman Vucic in election." It reports that a website called "system breakdown" was set up after Vucic's electoral defeat on Oct. 25, with artificial intelligence feeding it information in real time.

All sources: 4 articles from 4 outlets

Liberal (1)

Center (2)

Conservative (1)