Serbia to hold Europe's first election since coronavirus lockdown

BELGRADE: Serbia will hold Europe's first national election on Sunday since the continent went into coronavirus lockdown three months ago, with protective masks made available to voters at polling stations to guard against the spread of COVID-19.

President Aleksandar Vucic's conservative ruling Serbian Progressive Party is tipped to win more than 50% of votes, opinion polls show, buoyed by voters' perception that the government has handled the pandemic effectively and by state handouts to soften its economic impact.

Serbia, with a population of 7.2 million, has so far reported 12,616 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 258 deaths. "If I had 1,000 votes I would give them all to Vucic. He made us proud of being Serbs. He handled the coronavirus epidemic much better than leaders in other countries," said Pero Ciganovic, a 78-year-old pensioner.

Pensioners each received 130 euros and all other adult citizens 100 euros each to help counter the effects of the lockdown. The government has also announced a 5.1 billion euro recovery package for businesses. "According to our poll during the lockdown trust in state institutions grew," Bojan Klacar, executive director of Belgrade-based pollster CESID, told Reuters. "In times of crisis people gather around their leaders."

Vucic's coalition partner, the Socialist Party, is expected to come second in the election with about 10%, while an opposition centre-right party led by Aleksandar Sapic, mayor of a Belgrade municipality, is tipped to come third.

Serbia was among the first European countries to start opening its borders on May 22. It was also among the first to allow fans back to soccer matches without masks, although political parties have refrained from organising pre-election rallies due to the pandemic.