2012 Serbian parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in Serbia on 6 May 2012 to elect members of the National Assembly, and were held simultaneously with provincial, local, and presidential elections.[1][2]

2012 Serbian parliamentary election
6 May 2012
All 250 seats in the National Assembly
126 seats needed for a majority
Turnout57.77%
Party Leader % Seats ±
SNS coalition Tomislav Nikolić 24.05 73 +43
DS coalition Boris Tadić 22.07 67 -3
SPS–PUPS–JS Ivica Dačić 14.51 44 +24
DSS Vojislav Koštunica 6.99 21 0
LDP–SPO–SDU Čedomir Jovanović 6.53 19 +2
URS Mlađan Dinkić 5.51 16 -8
VMSZ István Pásztor 1.75 5 +1
SDA Sandžaka Sulejman Ugljanin 0.69 2 0
All Together Emir Elfić 0.63 1 +1
NOTA Nikola Tulimirović 0.59 1 New
KSLP Riza Halimi 0.30 1 0
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Results by district
Prime Minister before Prime Minister after
Mirko Cvetković
Independent		 Ivica Dačić
SPS
Serbia
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Background

The 2008 election resulted in the formation of a new pro-European government on 7 July 2008, with the necessary parliamentary votes coming from President Boris Tadić's For a European Serbia list, and the coalition of the Socialist Party of Serbia, the Party of United Pensioners of Serbia and United Serbia (the SPS-PUPS-JS coalition), plus six out of the seven minorities representatives. The new government elected Mirko Cvetković (endorsed by the Democratic Party) as Prime Minister.

The opposition, the Serbian Radical Party (SRS), had a split after the elections. The Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) party broke off and is headed by Tomislav Nikolić and Aleksandar Vučić, both of whom were major figures in the SRS before the establishment of the SNS in late 2008. In most opinion polls they and Democratic Party (DS) remain the two most popular parties, in combination gaining at least 60 percent of the total vote when combined. Other parties remain far behind, struggling to even attain double digit popularity figures.[3]

In early 2011, according to the Democratic Party's strategic marketing polls, the opposition SNS had higher ratings than the next three most popular parties combined.[4] The opposition attempted to promote early elections to take place in 2011. Major opposition rallies in February 2011 focused on the cited difficult socioeconomic conditions as well as widespread corruption.[5][6] The protesters' goal was to hold the elections earlier, in the Fall of 2011.[7] The protests did not succeed in affecting the date of the elections, which are to be held on 6 May 2012.[2] At least 50,000 to 70,000 attended the peaceful protests held on streets of Belgrade organised by SNS, the strongest among the country's opposition bloc.[6]

In fall 2011, posters and billboards endorsing various parties peppered Belgrade.[8] The election campaigns of many parties are well under way, despite the election date having been set for the first half of 2012.[8]

Participating parties/lists

There were 18 registered electoral lists for the 2012 parliamentary elections:[9]

  1. Choice For A Better Life – Boris Tadić (Izbor za bolji život - Boris Tadić/Избор за бољи живот – Борис Тадић)
    A coalition formed around the Democratic Party together with the Social Democratic Party of Serbia, the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina, the Greens of Serbia, the Democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina and the Christian Democratic Party of Serbia.[10]
  2. Serbian Radical Party – Vojislav Šešelj (Srpska radikalna stranka - Dr Vojislav Šešelj/Српска радикална странка – Др Војислав Шешељ)
    Serbian Radical Party is running alone in this election for the first time after party split, following the last parliamentary election in 2008. Their list is led by party leader Dr Vojislav Šešelj, who is an anti-communist currently on trial for alleged war crimes and is suspected of being involved in crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.[11]
  3. United Regions of Serbia – Mlađan Dinkić (Ujedinjeni regioni Srbije - Mlađan Dinkić/Уједињени региони Србије – Млађан Динкић)
    Coalition formed around the G17 Plus party. Among the members of this coalition are Together for Šumadija, People's Party and several other, mostly regional political parties and movements. Leader of the list is Mlađan Dinkić.
  4. Turnover – Čedomir Jovanović (Preokret - Čedomir Jovanović/Преокрет – Чедомир Јовановић)
    Coalition formed by Liberal Democratic Party, Serbian Renewal Movement, Social Democratic Union, Rich Serbia, Vojvodina's Party, Democratic Party of Sandžak, Green Ecological Party and The Party of Bulgarians from Serbia. It is also supported by the Association of Free and Independent Trade Unions. Leader of the list is Čedomir Jovanović.[12]
  5. Let's Get Serbia Moving – Tomislav Nikolić (Pokrenimo Srbiju - Tomislav Nikolić/Покренимо Србију – Томислав Николић)
    Coalition formed around the Serbian Progressive Party with New Serbia, Movement of Socialists, Strength of Serbia Movement, Serbian Association of Small and Medium Companies and Entrepreneurs, Association of Refugees in Serbia, People's Peasant Party, Bosniak People's Party, Democratic Party of Macedonians, Roma Party, Vlach Unity Movement and Economic Renewal of Serbia. Leader of the list is Tomislav Nikolić.[13]
  6. Democratic Party of Serbia – Vojislav Koštunica (Demokratska stranka Srbije - Vojislav Kostunica/Демократска странка Србије – Војислав Коштуница)
    The Democratic Party of Serbia competed independently in the election. Leader of the list is Vojislav Koštunica.[14]
  7. Ivica Dačić – "Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), Party of United Pensioners of Serbia (PUPS), United Serbia (US)" (Ivica Dačić - Socijalistička partija Srbije, Partija ujedinjenih penzionera Srbije, Jedinstvena Srbije/Ивица Дачић - Социјалистичка партија Србије, Партија уједињених пензионера Србије, Јединствена Србија)
    Coalition consisting of the Socialist Party of Serbia, Party of United Pensioners of Serbia and United Serbia. The Serbian Veteran Movement was the minor part of the coalition. Leader of the list is Ivica Dačić.[15]
  8. Dveri - For The Life Of Serbia (Dveri za život Srbije/Двери за живот Србије)
    List of independent candidates affiliated with nationalist and Eurosceptic organization Dveri. This is the first time they run for the Parliament. Leader of the list is Branimir Nešić.[16]
  9. Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians – István Pásztor (Vajdasági Magyar Szövetség/Savez vojvođanskih Mađara - Ištvan Pastor/Савез војвођанских Мађара – Иштван Пастор) M
    Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians is first national minority list on this election. Leader of the list is son of party president István Pásztor, Bálint Pásztor.[17]
  10. Reformist Party – Milan Višnjić (Reformistička stranka - Prof. dr Milan Višnjić/Реформистичка странка – Проф. др Милан Вишњић)
    Reformist Party is local party from Niš. Leader of the list and also a candidate for Mayor of Niš is Prof. Dr Milan Višnjić.[18]
  11. Party of Democratic Action of Sandžak – Sulejman Ugljanin (Stranka demokratske akcije Sandžaka - dr Sulejman Ugljanin/Странка демократске акције Санџака – др Сулејман Угљанин) M
    The Party of Democratic Action of Sandžak is a Bosniak national minority list on this election. Leader of the list is Sulejman Ugljanin.[19]
  12. Movement of Workers and Peasants (Pokret radnika i seljaka/Покрет радника и сељака)
    The list of independent candidates affiliated with Citizen's Group Movement of Workers and Peasants.[20] The list was led by Zoran Dragišić.
  13. Social Democratic Alliance – Nebojša Leković (Socijaldemokratski savez - Nebojša Leković/Социјалдемократски савез – Небојша Лековић)
    The Social Democratic Alliance party ran independently. List leader is party president Nebojša Leković.[21]
  14. All Together – BDU, CAH, DUC, DFVH, Slovak Party – Emir Elfić (Sve zajedno - Emir Elfić/Све заједно – Емир Елфић) M
    All Together is a coalition of five minority parties - Bosniak Democratic Union, Civil Alliance of Hungarians, Democratic Union of Croats, Democratic Fellowship of Vojvodina Hungarians and the Slovak Party. Leader of the list is president of Bosniak Democratic Union, Emir Elfić.[22]
  15. Albanian Coalition of Preševo Valley (Koalicioni i Shqiptarëve të lugines së Preshevës/Koalicija Albanaca Preševske doline/Коалиција Албанаца Прешевске долине) M
    [23]
  16. Montenegrin Party – Nenad Stevović (Црногорска партија – Ненад Стевовић) M
    [24]
  17. Communist Party - Josip Broz (Komunistička partija - Josip Broz/Комунистичка партија – Јосип Бpoз)
    [25]
  18. None of The Above (Nijedan on ponuđenih odgovora/Ниједан од понуђених одговора) M
    [25]

M — national minority list - the minimum threshold for these lists is 0.4% of the vote, compared to 5% for the others.

Opinion polls

Conduct

The Center for Free Elections and Democracy (CeSID) was amongst the electoral observers.[26] CeSID was also an election monitor.[27]

Results

About 6.7 million people were eligible to vote in the elections. The OSCE undertook the organisation of voting for the roughly 109,000 Serb voters in Kosovo.[28] Voting stations were open from 7:00 to 20:00[29] with no incidents reported across the country. Voter turnout by 18:00 was 46.34% in Belgrade, 48.37% in central Serbia and 47.89% in Vojvodina.[30] Voter turnout in Kosovo was 32%.[27]

 Summary of the 6 May 2012 National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia election results
Electoral list Votes % Seats +/–
Let's Get Serbia Moving – Tomislav Nikolić 940,659 24.05 73 73
Choice for a Better Life – Boris Tadić 863,294 22.07 67 35
Ivica Dačić – Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), Party of United Pensioners of Serbia (PUPS), United Serbia (US) 567,689 14.51 44 24
Democratic Party of Serbia – Vojislav Koštunica 273,532 6.99 21 0
Turnover – Čedomir Jovanović 255,546 6.53 19 3
United Regions of Serbia – Mlađan Dinkić 215,666 5.51 16 5
Serbian Radical Party – Dr Vojislav Šešelj 180,558 4.62 — 77
Dveri for the Life of Serbia 169,590 4.34 — —
Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians – István Pásztor 68,323 1.75 5 1
Movement of Workers and Peasants 57,199 1.46 — —
Communist Party – Josip Broz 28,977 0.74 — —
Party of Democratic Action of Sandžak – Dr Sulejman Ugljanin 27,708 0.69 2 2
All Together – BDU, CAH, DUC, DFVH and Slovak Party – Emir Elfić 24,993 0.63 1 1
None of the Above 22,905 0.59 1 1
Social Democratic Alliance – Nebojša Leković 16,572 0.42 — —
Albanian Coalition from Preševo Valley 13,384 0.30 1 0
Reformist Party – Prof Dr Milan Višnjić 8,867 0.22 — —
Montenegrin Party – Nenad Stevović 3,855 0.10 — —
Invalid 171,819 4.39  
Total turnout (57.77%, -3.56% or 3,911,136 out of 6,770,013) 3,911,136 100.00 250 —
Vote share
SNS coalition
 
 24.05%
DS coalition
 
 22.07%
SPS-PUPS-JS
 
 14.51%
DSS
 
 6.99%
LDP-SPO-SDU
 
 6.63%
URS
 
 5.51%
Others
 
 20.23%
Parliament Seats
SNS coalition
 
 29.20%
DS coalition
 
 26.80%
SPS-PUPS-JS
 
 17.60%
DSS
 
 8.40%
LDP-SPO-SDU
 
 7.60%
URS
 
 6.40%
Minorities
 
 4.00%

This election resulted in a Gallagher index of 12.85, which measures disproportionality of votes received and seats allocated to each party.

  SNS coalition  (73)
  DS coalition   (67)
  SPS–PUPS–JS  (44)
  DSS  (21)
  LDP–SPO–SDU  (19)
  URS  (16)
  National minorities  (10)

Involvement of the United States

In April 2012, Rudy Giuliani lobbied for Aleksandar Vučić in his candidacy for mayor of Belgrade.[31] The US Embassy to Serbia released a statement saying that Giuliani's appearance did not represent the United States endorsing any candidate in Serbia's parliamentary upcoming election.[32] Dragan Đilas, the incumbent mayor, responded to Giuliani's appearance, saying "Giuliani should not speak about Belgrade's future as a man who supported the bombing of Serbia."[33]

On July 3, 2012, the United States' Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Philip Reeker, conducted undisclosed discussions with Mlađan Dinkić of the URS party in his first day there.[34] When a journalist from B92 asked him what his mission in Serbia was, he replied that he was visiting "because Belgrade is a beautiful city".[34] Subsequently, URS joined the ruling coalition in the Serbian parliament.[35] At the time, Blic published a series of stories from anonymous diplomatic sources, correctly predicting a coalition with URS and SNS, asserting that Reeker's meetings in Belgrade were intended to ensure that the new ruling coalition involve parties which guarantee the continuation of the Belgrade–Pristina negotiations.[36] Additionally, Blic reported that Vučić was against SPS members leading both the BIA and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and asserted that the United States was in agreement with Vučić in disapproval of SPS controlling both state agencies.[37]

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References
  1. "National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia | National Assembly activities". Parlament.gov.rs. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  2. "Report: Elections to be held in spring 2012". Večernje novosti. 29 June 2011. Archived from the original on 14 April 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  3. "Five parties competing for 'bronze'". Blic. 27 July 2011. Archived from the original on 6 August 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  4. "Rally to last until elections are called". B92. Fonet. 8 April 2011. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  5. "Serbia holds biggest opposition protest in years". Reuters. 5 February 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  6. "Serbian opposition rally calls for early elections". Deutsche Welle. 5 February 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  7. "Serbia's pro-West government hit by protests". CBC News. Associated Press. 5 February 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  8. "Parties jockey for support well ahead of Serbia's elections". Southeast European Times. 9 August 2011. Archived from the original on 17 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  9. "RIK: Proglašeno 18 izbornih lista". B92. 24 April 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  10. "Potvrđena lista DS". B92. 19 March 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  11. "RIK proglasio tri izborne liste". B92. 19 March 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  12. "Info - LDP, SPO agree on pre-election coalition". B92. Archived from the original on 12 March 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  13. "Proglašena izborna lista SNS". B92. 20 March 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  14. "Proglašena lista DSS". B92. 21 March 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  15. "Konvencija SPS, PUPS, JS, SDPS u Kačarevu | Lokal | Vesti". Rtvpancevo.rs. 3 May 2012. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  16. "RIK proglasio izbornu listu Dveri". B92. 28 March 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  17. "RIK proglasila izbornu listu SVM". B92. 29 March 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  18. "RIK proglasio 10. listu". B92.net. 4 April 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  19. "Proglašena lista SDA". B92. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  20. "RIK: Lista Pokret radnika i seljaka". B92. 13 April 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  21. "RIK proglasio izbornu listu SDS". B92. 18 April 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  22. "Proglašena 14. lista za parlamentarne izbore "Sve zajedno"". Telegraf. 20 April 2012.
  23. "RIK: Koalicija Albanaca 15. lista". B92. 22 April 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  24. 15. Crnogorska partija - Nenad Stevović
  25. "Još dve liste pred ponoć". B92. 21 April 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  26. Fairclough, Gordon. "Serbia Run-Off Will Pit EU Supporter Against Nationalist - WSJ.com". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  27. Filipovic, Gordana. "Serb Progressive Party Wins Vote, Electoral Commission Says". Bloomberg. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  28. "Polls close in Serbia's general election - Europe". Al Jazeera English. 4 October 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  29. "Info - Polling stations close across Serbia". B92. Archived from the original on 9 May 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  30. Barlovac, Bojana. "Voting Finishes Without Incidents in Serbia". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  31. Fairclough, Gordon (20 April 2012). "Giuliani Wades Into World of Messy Balkan Politics". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  32. "Ambasada SAD: Poseta Đulijanija ne znači podršku SAD" (in Serbian). Radio Free Europe. 20 April 2012.
  33. "Belgrade mayor accuses Giuliani of "supporting bombing"". B92. 20 April 2012. Archived from the original (via Wayback Machine) on 20 May 2014.
  34. "Филип Рикер: У Србију сам дошао јер је Београд сјајан град". Nova srpska politička misao (in Serbian). 3 July 2012. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  35. "Sporazum koalicija SNS-a, SPS-a i URS-a" (in Serbian). Politika. 10 July 2012. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  36. Jakov Leon, Dijana Roščić (7 July 2012). "URS će u novoj vladi imati tri člana". Deutsche Welle (in Serbian). Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  37. "SAD ne žele da BIA i MUP drži ista partija". Blic (in Serbian). 4 July 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
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