Serbs Head to Polls in Rerun of Parliamentary, Municipal Elections

BELGRADE (Sputnik) - Polling stations opened on Saturday in Serbia for rerun elections to fill parliament and the municipal offices in Belgrade, the election commission said.

The Republican Election Commission (REC), in connection with the complaints about the course of the December 17 ballot, has scheduled a repeat voting in the parliamentary election at 35 of about 8,300 polling stations in Serbia, while Belgrade's election commission is holding a repeat voting in the municipal election at three more polling places.

The voting is taking place from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time (06:00 to 19:00 GMT), with over 19,500 people eligible to vote.

When the polling places close, their officials must submit protocols to the REC within 96 hours. The REC will then accept complaints and approve the preliminary results of the election within another 72 hours.

On December 17, Serbia held parliamentary and municipal elections. Following the vote, supporters of the pro-European opposition coalition Serbia Against Violence protested the outcome of the election and blocked traffic outside the REC building in Belgrade for several days last week. On Sunday, demonstrators tried to storm the building. Thirty-eight violent protesters were detained and eight police officers were injured in the clashes.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said in an address to the nation that the unrest was aimed at depriving the Balkan nation of its sovereignty and vowed to protect law and order.