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| - Serbians were voting Sunday e for a new parliament in Europe's first national election since the coronavirus pandemic, though few expect major surprises with the ruling party poised to dominate a scattered opposition, some of whom are boycotting the ballot. In power since 2012, the centre-right Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) is led by the country's powerful president, Aleksandar Vucic, who critics accuse of budding authoritarianism. The 50-year-old is not running for parliament himself but has fronted the campaign as the chief of his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) with the slogan: "Aleksandar Vucic - For Our Children". The party is tipped to garner more than 50 percent of the vote, according to recent polls, thanks to a weak opposition and recent successes in fighting the coronavirus outbreak. Several of the main opposition groups are boycotting the vote altogether, decrying democratic backsliding under Vucic's domineering governance. A slate of other small opposition parties are still in the race, but only a handful are expected to clear the three-percent threshold to enter parliament. The biggest unknown in the election may be turnout, due to lingering fears over the virus and the boycott campaign. In Belgrade, around 20 voters wearing face masks lined up at a polling station as soon as voting started at 0500 GMT. Jelena Djikanovic, a 39-year-old economist, said she was eager for change but not sympathetic to the boycott campaign. "Boycotting is not productive when the country is adrift," she told AFP. "I think it is not acceptable to surrender without a fight". Vucic, who was previously prime minister, is riding a fresh wave of popularity after keeping the coronavirus situation under control, with some 260 deaths in a country of seven million. Though the post of president is meant to be ceremonial, Vucic remains Serbia's top decision-maker, leading the nation through the health emergency with frequent new announcements and TV appearances. After bringing the first curve of infections down with tight lockdown measures, Serbia bolted out of confinement in early May -- even allowing some 16,000 to gather at a recent football match. Infections are now starting to rise again but the ballot, already delayed once by the virus in April, is going ahead with masks and gloves made available at polling stations. Rallies have mostly been cancelled over virus concerns, leaving Vucic to take centre stage for several virtual gatherings, in which he addressed hundreds of computer screens bearing faces of supporters watching from home. In addition to touting various infrastructure projects, he made promises such as raising salaries to 900 euros a month by 2025 -- nearly double the current 500-euro average. Dusan Spasojevic, a political science professor at Belgrade University, says Vucic has used the same playbook as other populists on the continent. "He found a way to speak on the behalf of people who were poor, less educated, lived in those places where you don't have many opportunities in your life... he gave them hope." He also benefits from a warped media landscape populated with pro-government outlets, plus a vast voting base of public sector employees and their relatives. His increasingly "authoritarian" grip, particularly over the media and state institutions, means "Serbia does not meet minimal conditions for elective democracy", says Spasojevic. "I use the term competitive autocracy: when there is a competition but participants are not equal," he said. Other observers agree, including the US-based Freedom House which recently deemed the country no longer a democracy but a "hybrid regime" because of Vucic's strongman tactics. Some 6.5 million people, including the diaspora, are eligible to vote, with initial results expected a few hours after polls close at 1800 GMT. Radojko Sovrlic, a 58-year-old mechanical engineer in Belgrade, told AFP he thinks Vucic deserves to be supported. "He has made a number of roads, tunnels, bridges, kindergartens. He has built quite a lot during his rule," he said. mat-ks-ssm/bp
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