Transparency Serbia warned on Monday that the ruling coalition is waging a campaign by state officials with President Aleksandar Vucic and his party’s candidates dominating the media more than in earlier campaigns.
Transparency Serbia spokesman Zlatko Minic told a news conference that recently adopted laws did nothing to change the behavior of state officials. He said that 58 percent more campaign activities by state officials was recorded than earlier, adding that the 10 most active state officials have doubled their activities such as deputy Belgrade Mayor Goran Vesic.
Minic said that Vucic is combining his activities as a state official with party campaigning by appearing at official events in places where he later holds party gatherings.
Transparency Serbia Program Director Nemanja Nenadic said the new regulations obliging the president to state clearly if he is appearing as a state or party official had no effect. “Vucic is named as state president and Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) leader on his Twitter account which means his roles are mixed up,” he said.
Nenadic said that some 15.7 million Euro have been earmarked in the state budget for election campaigns and added that less than 10 percent has been spent to date. “Only the SNS did any significant campaigning, spending at least 600,000 Euro on TV and social media advertising,” he said.