Electoral reform on paper, collapse of electoral conditions in practice Following recent stronger criticism from Brussels and other state capitals, the authorities also made steps to formally implement long-overdue reforms, some of which are conditions for the release of funding under the EU Growth Plan for the Western Balkans. On 9 November, the parliament adopted a new Law on the Unified Voter Register. The law should enable a full revision of the voter register, the accuracy of which remains highly controversial. The implementation of the law is still pending and many actors who are expected to participate in it, including opposition and civil society actors, are sceptical of the government’s genuine willingness to reform. The National Assembly also elected, more than a year after the legal deadline, eight out of nine mmbers of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media(REM). The election of the remaining member was blocked by the ruling majority, which denied a majority vote to all nominees. Local elections held on 30 November in three small municipalities featured numerous reported irregularities, including vote buying and abuse of public resources, as well as serious violence and intimidation targeting observers and participants. Although the ruling coalition retained control of the municipalities considered their strongholds, the drop in their support compared to previous election cycles was met with optimism by opposition actors, including the student movement. A polling station in Negotin on 30 November 2025. Photo- FoNet. According to observers, if the ninth member had been elected from among the nominated candidates, the REM Council would have had a 5-4 majority independent of the ruling party. They accused the ruling majority of attempting to maintain control over the country’s media regulator, and four independent members announced that they would resign in protest. Their resignations have not yet been formally submitted, as it appears they are waiting for the repeat vote on the ninth candidate. Nevertheless, a growing gap persists between the formal implementation of reforms and the reality on the ground. While the government continues to assure the EU that it will implement the OSCE/ODIHR electoral recommendations, only one of which is the revision of the voter register, electoral conditions in practice continue to visibly deteriorate. IMPRESSUM Publisher Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung(FES) Belgrade Office Dositejeva 51/1, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia Author Centre for Contemporary Politics Makedonska 21, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia The opinions expressed in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the FES. Commercial use of all media published by the FES is not permitted without the written consent of the FES. November 2025 ↗ serbia.fes.de ↗ centarsavremenepolitike.rs Tensions in Serbia Continues as the Government Struggles With Us Sanctions and Resorts to Violence in Local Elections 4