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Belgrade / AFP
Serbia’s electoral commission has asked some voters to recast their ballots after both opposition groups and powerful Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, who won by a landside, disputed the regularity of the weekend polls.
The repeat votes at 15 polling stations, likely to take place next week, mean the final results of Sunday’s general election will not be announced on Thursday, as required by law.
The commission said it was continuing to review reports from the polling stations, although international observers said “fundamental freedoms†were respected during the vote.
Vucic, 46, called for the election two years earlier than necessary, saying he needed a clear mandate to implement reforms needed for Serbia to join the European Union.
But the polls were seen by many as an attempt to consolidate and prolong his power, with critics expressing concerns over his authoritarian tendencies.
Although his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) won nearly 50 percent of the vote—according to the 98 percent of ballots counted—its representation in the 250-seat parliament has dropped from 158 seats from the last election to 131 seats.