April 18, 2017
Thousands of people, predominantly students, are protesting “against dictatorship” in 15 Serbian towns for the third week already, since the completion of the presidential election on 2nd April, which was won by incumbent Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić.
The protesters, who gathered spontaneously after a call on Facebook, believe that the elections were conducted in an unfair atmosphere, considering that Vučić dominated the media the entire time and was almost exclusively portrayed in a positive light.
They are demanding the dismissal of the editorial boards of public service broadcasters Radio-Television Serbia and Radio Television Vojvodina, for failing to ensure the equal representation of all candidates.
Their demands also include the dismissals of members of the Council of the Regulatory Body for Electronic Media, the state institution that rejected its own legal obligation to monitor the coverage of electronic media during the campaign and impose penalties on those television companies deemed to have discriminated against certain candidates and pushed others.
Students and citizens have a wide range of demands – apart from media regulation, they are also seeking an end to party-politicisation, decentralisation, changed social and economic policies, and the protection of workers’ rights.
Photo: FoNet / Zoran Mrdja
