The Times: Vučić backed away from an election-night coup at the last minute

Serbian officials have said that Aleksandar Vučić was preparing to seize power to remain in office, but later backed down after talks with European governments.

Politicians and a former police official told The Times that Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić came close to launching a violent coup before suddenly announcing his withdrawal on Sunday.

After 12 years in power, Vučić had reportedly decided not to step down, but changed course when it became clear that the Student List had secured a lead of 500,000 votes in the general election. At that point, he also received calls advising him not to escalate the confrontation.

“I am 100 per cent certain that he was preparing not to accept the result. On Sunday, he sent 4,000 police officers and 3,000 thugs to central Belgrade to protect the regime,” said Spasoje Vulević, former head of the Serbian police’s anti-terrorist unit.

Sandro Gozi, a member of the European Parliament and leader of the European Democratic Party in the EU Parliament, said his group had received information about such a scenario.

“On Sunday, we received alarming reports from diplomatic sources saying that he was ready to fight and stage a coup,” he said.

Radomir Saicic, one of the Student List’s leading candidates, who has been proposed for senior positions in Serbia’s next government, also claimed that Vučić had planned to use violence but later changed course.

“There was a plan to overturn the result by brute force if the margin was small. But I received information that he got numerous calls from the police and other people, which persuaded him to back down. He understood that carrying out this plan would have very serious consequences for him,” he said.

Saicic also said that a former police officer who had urged colleagues not to use violence or shoot at protesters was anonymously threatened with the words: “The first bullet is for you.”

Vučić faced the toughest electoral challenge of his career from a student movement that accused him of controlling the state, police, judiciary and media. He, in turn, claimed that his opponents were agents of foreign governments, without identifying them.

As a record number of citizens took part in Sunday’s vote, people dressed in black headed to Pionirski Park in Belgrade. Their aim was to retake a city campsite where, for months, violent Vučić supporters had been staying. They were reportedly paid by his party.

“They were sent in small groups, 20 to 30 people in each group,” Vulević said.

Meanwhile, members of the Serbian Gendarmerie, dressed in green uniforms, took up positions on the ground. Traffic on the roads was stopped and the streetlights were switched off.

“On Sunday morning, Vučić thought he was untouchable. I suspect they were preparing to announce irregularities in the vote and call for it to be repeated, which would have sparked protests. They would then have used the resulting violence as another reason to annul the election,” said Rade Gjurić, a lawyer with the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia.

However, at around 9:30 p.m., 90 minutes after polling stations closed, Vučić changed course and the armed men left. Unconfirmed rumours circulated in Belgrade that Viktor Orbán had persuaded him. Orbán himself was ousted from office in Hungary in April, after 16 years of rule reportedly marked by corruption.

Vulević said Vučić had been persuaded to accept the result, but not by police chiefs. According to him, all the commanders leading units in Belgrade had been carefully selected by Vučić and were not expected to oppose him.

“I believe Vučić received calls from European governments, and that these were talks at the highest level,” Vulević added.

A spokesperson for Vučić told The Times that police had been deployed in Belgrade in response to threats of violence from protesters and that this had nothing to do with any attempt to seize power.

At 6:43 p.m. on Sunday, Gozi’s group issued a statement warning that Vučić’s party might mobilise to provoke clashes at around 9 p.m., when the first election forecasts were expected to emerge.

“I cannot rule out that such calls were made, but in any case, there were simply too many votes against him. Vučić was taken by surprise,” Gozi said.