Thousands of Serbians protest against election of premier as president
Thousands of anti-government protesters have rallied in the Serbian capital city of Belgrade to protest against election of Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic as the country’s next president.
On Saturday, over 10,000 protestors, moved from outside the government headquarters in central Belgrade to demonstrate on major boulevards.
Most of the demonstrators were students who were joined by labor union members and representatives from the police and the army.
The protesters chanted slogans like "There are lots of us!" and "Vucic the thief, you stole the elections!"
"People are hungry while those at the top are enjoying themselves," one banner read.
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The police union chief, Veljko Mijailovic, who was addressing the crowd, hailed the "major coalition of the army, police and the people.”
On April 2, Vucic won the presidential election in the first round with a clear majority, garnering 55 percent of votes. He is scheduled to take office in late May.
Since last Monday, protests have been held in Belgrade and several other Serbian cities.
Opposition groups say Vucic exploited the media, and resorted to voter intimidation and bribes to win the race.
The main election rival, ex-ombudsman Sasa Jankovic who came second in the vote with 16 percent, has voiced support for the protests, but urged participants to keep the rallies non-violent.
Jankovic said on Saturday that protestors were unhappy with the "injustice of the autocratic regime which threatens Serbia with dictatorship.”
Vucic, who wants Serbia to join the European Union, has denied all the allegations against him.
"Everyone (has) the right to express their opinion. I do not have a problem with that. It is just important that everything happens absolutely democratically and calmly,” he has said.
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