Serbian police arrested six people on suspicion of planning violence against police and political opponents during the October 25 parliamentary election, prosecutors said on October 21, as the country faces one of its most contested votes in years.
Five suspects were arrested in the northern city of Novi Sad on suspicion of planning riots and attacks intended to undermine the constitutional order, the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade said in a statement.
They are suspected of recruiting people to travel to Belgrade on election day to attack political opponents and police officers using weapons and other objects, including knives, wooden poles and flares, the statement said. The suspects have been detained for up to 48 hours.
A sixth person, arrested in Belgrade, was suspected of training so-called mobile teams for physical confrontations and violence, prosecutors said.
The arrests come amid heightened political tensions ahead of Sunday's vote, which pits a list backed by long-time leader President Aleksandar Vucic against a student-backed opposition list campaigning on anti-corruption and rule-of-law reforms.
Vucic resigned as president in September to run for prime minister under the ruling Serbian Progressive Party's (SNS) banner, seeking to extend his 12-year hold on power after nearly two years of student-led protests.
The protests began after a railway station canopy collapsed in Novi Sad in November 2024, killing 16 people, and subsequently broadened into a nationwide movement demanding accountability, action against corruption and early elections.
One of those detained in Belgrade was civic activist Srdjan Ilic, a member of the Belgrade Remains initiative, according to his lawyer and local media. His lawyer, Rastko Naumov, said police searched Ilic's home and seized electronic devices before he voluntarily went to give a statement and was detained.
Djordje Miketic, an activist from the same initiative, described the case as politically motivated, according to N1 television. He said Ilic had urged supporters not to panic and to attend a rally in Belgrade on October 22 before voting on Sunday.
The arrests have raised concerns among opposition figures about possible political interference in law enforcement. Vladimir Prijovic, president of the Belgrade Bar Association, said the timing of the searches and detentions warranted scrutiny over whether police and prosecutors were acting independently or serving the government's election strategy, N1 reported.
The authorities have not publicly responded to those concerns.
The election campaign has been marked by allegations of pressure on public-sector employees, misuse of state resources and violence against government opponents.
In an investigation published on October 20, the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) reported that about 180 people had provided accounts of pressure on employees, many of them in the public sector, to support the SNS, attend its rallies or collect votes for the party. Employees described being asked to sign lists pledging their votes to the SNS and to gather additional support from family members and acquaintances. Those who refused reportedly faced threats to their jobs, transfers to less desirable positions or blocked career advancement, BIRN said. Some public-sector employees were also assigned to party call centres and campaign activities during working hours, while jobs and contract renewals were allegedly used to reward political loyalty.
Separately, a former SNS activist told BIRN in an investigation published on October 13 that he had organised groups of men to intimidate voters and provoke violence at student protests. Momcilo Marjanovic alleged that he had received hundreds of thousands of euros in cash from a local public official and SNS member in Novi Sad for such activities. Serbia's organised crime prosecutor's office has said it would investigate the allegations. The claims have not been established in court, and the SNS has not publicly responded to the specific allegations.
The CRTA election-monitoring mission said on October 21 that the campaign had been marked by restrictions on political freedoms, violence and unequal conditions for candidates.
CRTA said it had recorded 116 incidents involving physical violence or verbal threats by the final week of the campaign. It also identified more than 650 instances of potential misuse of public office or state resources among more than 1,500 activities involving public officials.
On television channels with national coverage, nearly three-quarters of the time devoted to political actors went to government representatives, CRTA said, adding that the student-backed opposition list was portrayed negatively in more than 80% of the coverage in which it featured.
The ruling party has disputed criticism of the election campaign. Senior SNS official and Acting President Ana Brnabic accused CRTA of acting in favour of the student-backed list rather than as an impartial observer.
The student movement is seeking to translate its mass protest support into electoral gains through a list of academics, professionals and other public figures running under the slogan "Students Win", with a somewhat vague policy platform focused on institutional reform, investment in hospitals, education and support for small businesses.
A poll published on October 20 by the New Serbian Political Thought research institute put the student-backed list at 44.5% among decided voters, ahead of the ruling coalition on 42.7%. The figures were based on a survey conducted from September 25 to October 5 and do not constitute a forecast of the election result, the institute said.