(7 Jun 2023)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Belgrade - 7 June 2023
1. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic arriving for briefing
2. Vucic and Brnabic during briefing
3. SOUNDBITE (Serbian) Aleksandar Vucic, Serbian President:
”Now it’s clear that we will have early parliamentary elections. It's just a question of the exact month that the parliamentary elections will be held."
4. Serbian flags
5. SOUNDBITE (Serbian) Ana Brnabic, Serbian Prime Minister:
”At this moment when society is in such a situation, such a crisis, the only way to solve this in democratic societies is by talking. They (opposition) don’t want talks, unfortunately. This is why I repeat today that I am ready to resign, my resignation is on the table.”
6. Vucic and Brnabic leaving

STORYLINE:
Serbia’s president on Wednesday promised an early parliamentary election, in an apparent attempt to defuse large protests against his populist rule in the wake of two mass shootings that shook the nation.

In an address to the nation, President Aleksandar Vucic said the vote will be held “by the end of this year.”

“Now it’s clear that we will have early parliamentary elections,” Vucic said, flanked by his close political ally, Prime Minister Ana Brnabic.

“I’m ready to resign, my resignation is on the table,” Brnabic said.

Most of the opposition parties have rejected holding an election while Vucic maintains a firm grip on all leverages of power, including the mainstream media, which have been almost completely under his control.

Tens of thousands of people have rallied in Serbia’s capital, Belgrade, even as Vucic rejected any responsibility for the crisis and ignored the protesters’ demands to step down.

He said the protesters were using the mass shootings to come to power without an election, saying that even if that means killing him and his family.

The opposition protesters have been demanding the resignations of senior government officials and the revocation of broadcasting licenses for two pro-government television networks which, they say, promote violence and glorify crime figures.

A new protest is planned for this weekend in what is becoming an increasingly serious challenge to Vucic, perhaps the biggest one he has faced since coming to power 11 years ago.

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