Belgrade, Nov 1 (IANS) Repeat voting in Serbia’s October 25 snap parliamentary elections began on Sunday at 53 polling stations, according to the Serbian Republic Electoral Commission (RIK).
Voting started at 7 am local time (0600 GMT) and is scheduled to end at 8 pm, with 24,438 registered voters eligible to cast ballots.
The RIK ordered repeat voting at 31 polling stations where results could not be determined and another 22 where voting had been annulled, Xinhua News Agency reported.
According to preliminary results released by the RIK on Monday, based on data from 8,187 of the country’s 8,392 polling stations, the student-backed list “Student List – Students Are Winning” received 52.71 per cent of the vote. The “Aleksandar Vucic – United Serbia” list, led by the Serbian Progressive Party, got 39.17 per cent.
Serbia held early parliamentary elections on October 25, with 18 electoral lists featuring 2,418 candidates competing for the 250 seats in the National Assembly. About 6.45 million voters were registered for the election, with 8,392 polling stations set up across the country. The preliminary results covered 8,187 polling stations.
Under the Serbian constitution, the election of a new National Assembly will initiate the process of forming a new government. After lawmakers elect a new parliamentary speaker, the speaker, who is currently serving as acting president, will nominate a candidate for prime minister. The nominee must present a government program and a proposed list of cabinet members and secure the support of a majority of National Assembly deputies to form a new government.
On September 5, Vucic, then president, accepted the nomination by the SNS to lead its parliamentary election list and run as its candidate for prime minister. He signed a decree dissolving parliament on September 9 and called early parliamentary elections for October 25.
Vucic resigned as president on September 27, after which National Assembly Speaker Ana Brnabic assumed the duties of acting president.
Under Serbian law, a presidential election must be held by the end of December.
–IANS
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