It's confirmed: Parliamentary elections in Serbia to take place on April 26

Serbian citizens will vote on April 26, Prva TV reported, citing unnamed sources.

Both local and parliamentary elections will be held on the same day, the broadcaster said.

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Secretary General of the President of Serbia Nikola Selakovic confirmed for this television that voting would take place on April 26 and said he hoped the citizens would confirm the absolute legitimacy of the election.

He said that anyone who is serious about politics knows that elections are an opportunity to gauge citizens' trust in individuals, in ideas and programs being offered.

He also said that lowering the election threshold from five to three percent would allow democracy to return from the streets to parliament, exactly what President Aleksandar Vucic has been talking about.

Photo: Government of Serbia/Ministry of Justice

He believes that it wouldn't be serious to prepare for an elections a month and a half or two months beforehand, and that serious politicians are engaged in politics all the time between two election cycles, while those who are very serious, for even longer than one election cycle.

He pointed out that it will be known who is going to the polls by looking at who submitted their list.

"More than 2,000 years ago, Aristotle said that only those who participate in the Olympics have a chance of winning. A prerequisite for getting an opportunity to exercise your political agenda is to participate in elections as serious and responsible people," Selakovic said.

Previously, President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic said April 19 or April 26 were the two possible dates for holding parliamentary elections in Serbia.

"The most logical thing would be for elections to be held on April 26, first of all, considering that Easter is one week before that, and the practice is to avoid such important holidays. It happened in the past that elections were held on (family patron saint feasts, slavas) Djurdjevdan, in 2012, and Jovanjdan, in 2007. However, these are not dates that are of importance to the entire community, unlike Easter, which is celebrated by more than 90 percent of Serbian citizens," Cesid Executive Director Bojan Klacar said recently.

(Telegraf.rs/TV Prva)