Serbia’s populists look to further tighten grip on power in tense election

By DUSAN STOJANOVIC
Associated Press

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — President Aleksandar Vucic is looking to further tighten his grip on power in Serbia in an election that has been marred by reports of major irregularities during a tense campaign and during the voting day. The main contest in the parliamentary and local elections on Sunday is expected to be between Vucic’s governing populist Serbian Progressive Party and a centrist coalition that is trying to undermine the populists who have ruled the troubled Balkan state since 2012. The Serbia Against Violence opposition coalition of group parties is expected to mount the biggest challenge to the populists on the ballot for the city council in Belgrade. Analysts say an opposition victory in the capital would seriously dent Vucic’s hard-line rule in the country.