Former Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić considered holding onto power by force after parliamentary elections but ultimately abandoned the scenario, swayed by phone calls urging him to step back, The Times reported, according to infohub.kz.
Police presence was reinforced in Belgrade on voting day, and European diplomats received alarming messages about possible developments. Izvestia reported this, citing NUR.KZ.
Spasojе Vulević, a former commander of Serbia's police anti-terrorist unit, told The Times that 4,000 police officers and 3,000 people he described as thugs were sent into central Belgrade on voting day, October 25. In his assessment, Vučić intended to refuse to recognize the election results.
MEP Sandro Gozi, for his part, told the newspaper that on election day he received alarming messages from diplomatic sources about Vučić's readiness for a forceful scenario. His political group issued a statement warning that supporters of Vučić's party could be mobilized to provoke clashes around 9:00 p.m. local time, when the first result forecasts appear.
"The police presence in Belgrade was a response to threats of violence from protesters and was not connected to any attempt to seize power," a representative of Vučić said, commenting on the claims to the newspaper.
It was reported earlier that the party of former Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić lost in the parliamentary elections, with the Student List party winning.