The election campaign rally of the “Aleksandar Vucic - United Serbia” electoral list - a coalition led by the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) alongside several political allies - was held Wednesday evening in the southern city of Nis.
Oglas
The event kicked off with addresses from former Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic, who is also the former leader of the SNS, and Milorad Dodik, Bosnian Serb politician and former president of Bosnia’s Republika Srpska entity.
Taking the stage on the central city square, Aleksandar Vucic, who heads the “United Serbia” list, told supporters that although the government has poured significant funding into the healthcare system over the years, it has never been enough. He emphasized that healthcare stands as the most critical pillar of “United Serbia’s” platform.
“I want every head of a household, in every community, to be able to see a doctor on any given day. Healthcare must be accessible everywhere,” Vucic said.
Vucic pledged that if his coalition wins the upcoming elections, the government will invest 1.3 billion (without specifying the currency) over the next two years to renovate hospitals and local clinics across the country, with a particular focus on southern Serbia.
Beyond healthcare, Vucic promised heavy investments in tourism, agriculture, town squares, roads, and utility infrastructure, including water supply and sewage systems.
“We are going to get all of this done here. We will also provide subsidies for the food processing industry that are double what other parts of Serbia receive,” Vucic vowed.
The rally brought parts of Nis to a standstill. Leading up to the event, N1 reporters on the ground described a city gripped by “election fever,” with dozens of massive banners and billboards featuring Vucic’s face blanketing the downtown area.
The closure of the city center triggered severe traffic gridlock on the outskirts of Nis. Disgruntled drivers stuck in kilometers-long backups honked their horns in protest.
An N1 reporter said local residents living directly on the square reported that police instructed them to lower their window blinds and stay off their balconies and terraces during the rally, citing safety protocols for the event.
Classes were cut short in several local schools, while an N1 reporter learned that some public enterprises also shortened their working hours on Wednesday.
Journalists documented fleets of buses with both Serbian and Macedonian license plates transporting public sector workers from nearby Vranje to boost attendance at the Nis rally.
SNS supporters lined up before and after the speeches to take photos with life-sized cardboard cutouts of Vucic.
The rally proceeded despite an earlier legal dispute over the venue. Municipal inspectors from the Mediana municipality had conducted an extraordinary inspection of the square and issued a formal order to dismantle the stage and other “illegally erected structures” ahead of the “United Serbia” event. However, authorities failed to enforce the order, and the stage remained intact.
Earlier in the day, the student movement had issued a public call urging citizens to ignore the ruling party’s rally.
Teme