Thousands gather In Belgrade to protest Serbian election, demand annulment
Several thousand people gathered for a seventh night in central Belgrade to protest what the opposition and many Western observers called fraud in the country’s December 17 parliamentary and local elections, with some demonstrators attempting to enter the capital’s assembly building late in the evening, RFE reports.
The December 24 protest was called by the pro-Europe Serbia Against Violence coalition, which rejected the outcome of the elections following victory claims by President Aleksandar Vucic's ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).
"The whole world has seen the theft that has not been recorded. In Belgrade, we won. Belgrade is a free city," opposition politician Srdjan Milivojevic of the Democratic Party said at the rally.
Police officers were reportedly inside the assembly building, poised to fend off protesters attempting to gain entry into the site, where windows had been broken. Police fired tear gas at demonstrators.
Protesters carried banners and flags of Serbia and the European Union as they blew whistles and repeatedly shouted "Thieves, thieves!" during the protests.
Earlier, opposition figures from the Serbia Against Violence list said they wanted to enter the assembly building to address people from the balcony at the site.
