Protesters clash with police in Serbian capital in call for election redo

Dec. 25 (UPI) -- Thousands of protesters and opposition leaders in Serbia are calling for the results of the most recent parliamentary election to be thrown out after international watchdogs reported irregularities in the election process.

The election was called by President Aleksandar Vucic after he dissolved Parliament last month. His party, the Serbian Progressive Party, won 47% of the votes on Dec. 17.

Protesters gathered at the City Assembly in the capital city Belgrade on Sunday and attempted to enter the building seeking the nullification of the election. Thirty-five people have been arrested and two law enforcement officers were injured.

Vucic downplayed the protest, saying demonstrators will not succeed in changing the election results.

"No revolution is in progress and they will not succeed in anything they're doing," he said in a televised statement.

Serbia's Bureau for Security Services met Monday to discuss the demonstrations. Bureau head Ivica Dacic said the situation is "stable."

"We strongly condemned the act of violent intrusion into institutions, these were not political protests, but an attempt to seize power by force, an intrusion into the City Assembly -- the Old Palace," he said in a statement. "The security situation in Serbia is stable, as well as that all elements of the security system will continue to work in a coordinated manner to protect the constitutional order."

The election was marked with vote buying, voter migration and intimidation tactics, according to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, an organization that observes elections internationally. It cited a number of "procedural deficiencies" in Serbia's election. It also noted some instances of violence on election day.

"Negative assessments were primarily attributed to overcrowding and inadequate measures to ensure secrecy of the vote," the report says. "The [observers] noted instances of group or family voting in some 19% of polling stations. In 14 instances, unauthorized persons were observed monitoring voter turnout."

Serbia has maintained ties with Russia while seeking membership to the European Union. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova alleged without citing evidence that the protests in Belgrade have been influenced by western nations.

"Attempts by the collective West to inflame the situation in the country, using [cookie-cutter] 'Maidan-style coup d'etat' techniques are obvious," she told TASS, the Russian-controlled news agency. "The only possible reaction is to adhere to the letter and spirit of the country's constitution and to respect the choice of the Serbian people, who voted for their country's national interests."