Whistling crowd protests Vucic’s presidential election win

BELGRADE, Serbia – Blowing whistles and chanting “you stole the vote,” several thousand mostly young people gathered in downtown Belgrade and other Serbian cities on Tuesday to protest against powerful leader Aleksandar Vucic’s presidential election victory.

Chanting slogans against Prime Minister Vucic and calling on Belgrade citizens to join them, the crowd stopped traffic in front of the parliament building and then marched through the capital.

The protesters have for the second day gathered on the streets after calls on social media to rally against his “dictatorship.” It was not clear who is the organizer of the protests. Similar protests were held in the towns of Novi Sad and Nis.

Vucic won the Sunday vote by a landslide against a string of fractured opposition candidates.

Vucic, a former ultranationalist who claims to be a pro-EU reformer, said Tuesday he has nothing against the protests, “as long as they are peaceful.”

The opposition has claimed major election irregularities, including muzzling of the media, intimidation and bribing voters.

The protesters chanted “We don’t want you Vucic!” and “Vucic is a thief!” A banner in Belgrade read: “The power of people is stronger than the people in power.”