Opposition presidential candidate Zdravko Ponos told Novi Magazin weekly that the Serbian authorities have raised corruption to an unprecedented level and are firmly linked to organized crime.

“After 10 years of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) in power, we are a fairly broken up society. Corruption is embedded to the point that endangers the survival of society,” the United Serbia candidate told Nov Magazin weekly. According to him, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic’s attitude is “I am the state” which “in practice means that the state is drinking the blood of its people instead of being at its service”. Ponos said that Vucic also spreads hate speech. “The outgoing president’s behavior and decisions have divided society into his people and everyone else… He represents only the unity of his party,” he said.

“Serbians will have an opportunity to say goodbye to the current authorities on April 3 and stop the train which has taken Serbia dangerously close to the abyss after 10 years of SNS leadership,” he said, and recalled the previous authorities fell from power in 2012 because of corruption.

According to Ponos, there is huge dissatisfaction in Serbia among undecided and opposition voters as well as among a large number of SNS followers. “Everyone has realized that we are not a prosperous country as the authorities have been saying to deceive the public for years,” he added. “Eve SNS sympathizers no longer believe regime propaganda,” Ponos said.