Serbia has moved forward with its election for the Narodna skupstina. Also known as the National Assembly, the country's parliament. The election cycle in Serbia has not been a normal one, per se.
The election itself was supposed to be held almost two months earlier, on April 26. But worries over the novel Coronavirus ended up delaying the event, as indicated by Deutsche Welle. Although it would take place several weeks later, the election was still an unusual one.
'For Our Children' tallies an easy victory
For the fourth consecutive Serbian parliamentary election, the coalition coined 'For Our Children' has come out on top.
The name is a translation of the Serbian term 'Za nasu decu.'
The coalition is uniquely diverse. It's currently made up of eight separate political parties of varying ideologies. For Our Children is anchored by a centrist-to-conservative party. Other parties include one that primarily caters to senior citizens. And another with its main platform of restoring the Serbian monarchy.
COVID-19 was a hot topic on election day. There were also a number of other major issues that likely played a role in the results. One of them was the movement to have Serbia join the European Union. Another is whether or not to recognize Kosovo as an independent state. Kosovo declared independence in 2008, but Serbian officials still regard it as a territory of their country.
More than 100 members of the United Nations recognize Kosovo as its own country. Including the U.S., U.K., Australia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada, France, Denmark, Belgium, Poland, Switzerland, Austria, South Korea, and Sweden. All other countries that border Kosovo considers it an independent state. But Serbia does not.
Multiple political parties refused to participate
Members of For Our Children recently changed election rules that would, in theory, mean more parties in the parliament. According to Balkan Insight, it was to encourage a maximum amount of political parties to participate in the election. But this doesn't seem to have had the intended effect in 2020.
Many political parties that oppose For Our Children opted to boycott the election. This was mainly because of continuing concerns stemming from COVID-19. Opposition parties protested that it wasn't safe to hold the election yet.
Those that chose not to run include parties that vary widely in their platforms. Including the center-left Demokratska stranka ('Democratic Party') and Stranka slobode i pravde ('Party of Freedom and Justice'). As well as the center-right Narodna stranka ('People's Party) and the right-wing parties Otadzbina ('Fatherland') and Dveri. All of these parties are members of the coalition named Savez za Srbiju, or 'Alliance for Serbia'.
