General elections were held in Serbia on 3 April 2022 to elect both the president of Serbia and members of the National Assembly. Initially, parliamentary elections were scheduled to be held in 2024; however, in October 2020 president Aleksandar Vučić said that snap parliamentary elections would be held in or before April 2022. In addition to the general elections, local elections were held simultaneously in 12 municipalities and 2 cities, including Belgrade, the capital of Serbia.
The Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) came to power after the 2012 election when it formed a coalition government with the Socialist Party of Serbia. SNS won a supermajority of seats following the 2020 parliamentary election, which was boycotted by the major opposition Alliance for Serbia coalition that claimed that the election would not be free and fair. Vučić, who was elected president in 2017, faced protests during his first term, most notably during 2018–2020 and in July 2020. The government also oversaw the inter-party dialogues regarding electoral conditions which took place in 2021, while the agreement regarding the conditions between the government and opposition parties was reached in October 2021. Over the course of 2021 and early 2022, environmental protests were also held, reaching a climax in November and December 2021. A constitutional referendum, held in January 2022, was approved by 60 percent of the voters, although the turnout was 30 percent.
The campaign period was met with polarisation. Some organisations noted that the ruling party dominated the media, although news channels organised debates and political programme presentations during this period. Candidates concentrated on issues such as fighting against corruption, emphasising the rule of law, as well as issues regarding the economy, environment, and infrastructure. The Republic Electoral Commission confirmed that 19 parliamentary lists and eight presidential candidates registered to participate in the general elections.
Vučić won 60 percent of the votes in the first round of the presidential election, while Zdravko Ponoš, the candidate of the United for the Victory of Serbia coalition, placed second. The coalition around SNS lost its majority in the National Assembly, although 12 ballot lists crossed the threshold and entered the National Assembly. Multiple non-governmental organisations noted the occurrence of election irregularities during the election day. According to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, an uneven playing field favoured the incumbents, as they had unbalanced access to the media, pressured public sector employees to support the incumbents, enjoyed significant campaign finance disparities, and misused state resources to bolster their support. Ana Brnabić, who had been the prime minister since 2017, and her cabinet were inaugurated in October 2022.
Background
A populist coalition led by the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and supported by the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), came to power after the 2012 parliamentary election. Aleksandar Vučić, who was appointed as deputy prime minister in 2012, was elected prime minister after the 2014 election, and finally elected as president in 2017, winning 55% of the popular vote. Since he came to power, observers have assessed that Serbia has suffered from democratic backsliding into authoritarianism, followed by a decline in media freedom and civil liberties. Mass protests began after his election in 2017 due to the alleged dominant control of Serbia's media by Vučić. Subsequently, he appointed Ana Brnabić as the new head of government, who initially served as an independent but later joined SNS in 2019.
The assassination of opposition politician Oliver Ivanović and an assault on another opposition politician Borko Stefanović triggered the start in late November 2018 of long-lasting anti-government protests, which ended in March 2020 due to the proclamation of COVID-19 lockdowns. These protests helped to strengthen the unity of opposition forces, of which the Alliance for Serbia (SZS) was the biggest and most prominent, while demonstrators demanded the resignation of Vučić and other senior officials. Parallel to this, Vučić launched the "Future of Serbia" rallies in 2019. Journalist Slobodan Georgiev noted that the rallies effectively silenced the protests. SZS declared that they would boycott the 2020 parliamentary election, citing that the conditions were not free and fair.
The SNS-led ballot list, named "For Our Children", won a supermajority of votes and seats in the June 2020 parliamentary election, while the government was formed in late October 2020. Following the election, Vučić stated that snap parliamentary elections would be held in or before April 2022. Shortly after the election ended, protests erupted in Belgrade. These anti-government protests were marked with police brutality and violence orchestrated by the government, while the protesters were divided between taking peaceful and violent approaches. The protests lasted until early August 2020, while some sporadic protests continued to be organised until late 2020. SZS was challenged with inter-coalition conflicts that remained active until its dissolution in August 2020. The United Opposition of Serbia (UOPS) was formed as a direct successor to the SZS shortly after. The coalition was also faced with inter-coalition conflicts, and due to their ideological differences, the coalition ended up being dissolved between December 2020 and January 2021. It was split into two blocs, which were headed by the Party of Freedom and Justice (SSP) and People's Party (Narodna).
Inter-party dialogues on electoral conditions The dialogues between opposition and government parties to improve election conditions began on 28 April 2021. Opposition parties that had negative opinions regarding the European Union decided to not participate in talks with delegators from the European Parliament. Parties that declined to take part in talks with delegators from the European Parliament were a part of work board dialogues, which began on 18 May 2021. The talks with delegators from the European Parliament began on 9 July 2021.
Members of the European Parliament Tanja Fajon, Vladimír Bilčík and Knut Fleckenstein met with Vučić in Belgrade on 9 July 2021. Soon after, the discussion began with Vladimir Orlić, Sandra Božić, and Marijan Rističević representing SNS. After the meeting, delegators filed a proposal to improve electoral conditions. The draft document was released to the parties on 1 September 2021. SSP, Narodna, Movement for Reversal (PZP), Movement of Free Citizens (PSG), New Party (Nova), and the Together for Serbia (ZZS) opposition political parties criticised the draft document, while Vučić stated that "he isn't thrilled" with the document. Vučić and Dačić met again with the delegators on 17 September; Vučić and Đorđe Milićević, the head of the SPS parliamentary group, confirmed that they would accept the suggestions in the new draft document. Opposition political parties rejected the draft and soon after abandoned the dialogues. Dačić announced that the government accepted the suggestions of forming a media monitoring body and the change in the composition of the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK). On 20 September 2021, Dačić stated that the inter-party dialogue with the participation of delegators from the European Parliament had ended.
On 27 August 2021, Dačić announced that the electoral threshold would remain at 3%. In early September 2021, political parties that took part in work board dialogues had received the draft document regarding the improvement of electoral conditions. Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), Dveri, and POKS gave mixed responses to the document. The signatory meeting was initially supposed to be held on 11 September, although it was later delayed to late October. Representatives of DSS, Dveri, POKS, Enough is Enough (DJB), Healthy Serbia (ZS), and Serbian Radical Party (SRS) took part in the signatory meeting which was held on 29 October 2021. In the final document, it was agreed that the minimum number of collected signatories for minority ballot lists would be lowered from 10,000 to 5,000; more funding would be given to participants in elections; the obligation to post a financial guarantee for the participants would be abolished; the right of free use of all halls of local communities for pre-election activities for opposition parties would be given; electoral campaigns would be prohibited from ten days before the election date; fees would be increased for polling station staff; and the Regulatory Body of Electronic Media (REM) and Election Commission would receive composition changes. SNS declined to organise parliamentary and presidential elections on different days and to change rules regarding the ballot representatives, although it had offered to not open any "roads and factories" a week before the election date.
Constitutional referendum
Shortly after the 2020 parliamentary election, the government submitted a proposal to change the constitution to the National Assembly. The National Assembly adopted the proposal in December 2020, while the document received further amendments up to June 2021. For the proposed changes to be adopted, a referendum needed to take place; it was initially announced that it would be held in fall of 2021, although the date was later settled for 16 January 2022. In November 2021, changes to the law on referendum and people's initiative were adopted by the National Assembly; the changes would abolish the 50% turnout that was needed for referendums to be considered valid. Vučić signed the law on 25 November, although the law was also amended in December 2021.
SNS and SPS voiced their support for the constitutional changes, while the opposition were divided in opinion. A majority of opposition parties stated their opposition to the changes and called for citizens to vote against the proposed changes, while SSP, Democratic Party (DS), and Party of Democratic Action of Sandžak (SDAS) called to boycott the referendum. Nevertheless, analysts had concluded that the campaign would be restrained due to the April 2022 general election and that a possibility of abuse of the referendum would be possible. In the end, a majority of voters voted in favour of changes, although the turnout was reported to be only 30%. A majority of voters in Belgrade, Novi Sad and Niš voted against the proposed changes. Irregularities were reported at voting stations, while some non-governmental organisations, such as the Centre for Research, Transparency, and Accountability (CRTA), and opposition parties, such as DJB, claimed voter fraud.
Environmental protests
Rio Tinto, an Anglo-Australian mining corporation, had operated in Serbia since 2004 and it explored mines near the Jadar Valley. The government of Serbia signed an agreement in 2017 to implement Project Jadar, which would give Rio Tinto permission to exploit the jadarite mineral. Environmental protests in Serbia were held as early as in January 2021, although the protests that began in September 2021 garnered national attention. Environmental organisations and groups demanded the government to withdraw the referendum and expropriation laws, as well as to cancel Project Jadar. The protests resumed in November 2021, and peaked in late November and early December 2021. A series of roadblocks protests were held during that period and they ended up turning violent. Following the protests in early December 2021, the government withdrew the expropriation law and abolished the spatial plan for Project Jadar. Protests were organised up to 15 February 2022. Protests in support were also organised internationally. The government criticised the protests and its organisers.
Electoral system