In Serbia, turnout at the polls is rising sharply, 'irregularities and incidents at polling stations'. Presidential elections in Bulgaria

In Serbia, where polling stations opened at 7, turnout stood at 34.5% by 12, compared to 21.3% in the December 2023 vote. This was announced by the national electoral commission (Rik). Long queues formed at polling stations from the early hours of the morning, and some irregularities have been reported, recorded by independent media. In particular, in Kladovo, in the center of the country, an opposition member of the local electoral commission reported an abnormally large list of people requesting, without a certified impediment, to vote from home, i.e. not at the polling station: a number that reportedly grew from 115 to 460. The complaint highlights that some commission members allegedly entered lists of names handed over by strangers, raising strong suspicion that hundreds of citizens were registered without their knowledge. Physical disturbances were reported in the municipality of Doljevac, in southern Serbia, where, it is reported, some thirty individuals with a hostile appearance allegedly entered a polling station, "assaulting some of the people present." Two pepper spray attacks were reported in Zvezdara (Belgrade) and Pančevo. The president of the electoral commission, Vladimir Dimitrijević, during one of the briefings held every hour, stated for his part that voting operations underway at a large number of polling stations are proceeding without incidents or irregularities. "The only initial difficulty was the opening of the polling stations themselves due to the large crowds, and the start of the electoral committee's work and the definition of operational procedures at the stations, which are now all open." These are the most hotly contested parliamentary elections of the last 14 years, with a movement led by students seeking to unseat the party of long-time leader Aleksandar Vučić, the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). Video Polls open in Serbia, challenge between the Students Movement and outgoing Vucic Around 6.5 million eligible voters are called to the polls in early parliamentary elections to elect deputies for a four-year term. By 11, 27.3% of eligible voters had already voted: nearly double the 15.1% recorded at the same hour in the previous December 2023 elections. This is written on its website by the demoscopic company CeSid/Ipsos Serbia. At 9, turnout was 12%. The Student List advised its voters to vote early, and according to polls, high turnout (forecasts put it above 60%) should favor the students. Controversy over votes from Bosnia and other voters abroad Large crowds and long lines from the early hours of the morning also outside the Serbian embassy in Sarajevo. Just under 20,000 voters registered to vote in Serbia's extraordinary parliamentary elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina, about 90% of whom reside in the territory of Republika Srpska (Rs), where the Serbian population predominantly lives. Of the 93 polling stations opened abroad, as many as 28 are in Bosnia. Citizens of Bosnia's Republika Srpska who have the right to vote in this election are native Bosnian citizens with dual Serbian citizenship, not "expatriates" or emigrants. Dual citizenship is based on bilateral agreements between Belgrade and Banja Luka under the 1995 Dayton peace accords. It is estimated that over 590,000 Bosnian citizens have received a Serbian passport, which allows them, precisely, to vote in Serbian elections. This practice has generated much controversy in Serbia ahead of today's vote, and the decision to concentrate so many polling stations in Bosnia-Herzegovina (28, a significant increase compared to previous elections out of a total of 93 worldwide) was contested by the Student List and other opponents. Of the more than 100,000 total registered Serbian citizens abroad, it is objected, numerous polling stations were added or maintained in areas traditionally favorable to the ruling party (such as, precisely, Bosnia's Rs), while entire metropolises in Europe and North America (such as Vancouver, Chicago, or Bratislava) were left with very few stations or even without any polling places, forcing residents to travel thousands of kilometers and to vote during Serbian hours (from 7 to 20, Belgrade time), regardless of time zones. Bulgaria, presidential election voting underway Voting began this morning in Bulgaria's presidential election, amid growing security concerns following a series of drone attacks against ships in the Black Sea. Polling stations opened at 7 local time and will close at 20. Video Bulgaria, presidential election voting underway Reproduction reserved © Copyright ANSA