Ex-Milosevic Ally Vucic Wins New Majority in Serb Snap Election
- Premier Vucic's Progressives win 49 percent, monitors say
- Progressives pledge to reform economy after decades of delay
Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic’s Progressive Party won a majority in parliament in snap elections on Sunday, securing a new four-year term to overhaul the economy and lead the country closer to the European Union.
The Progressives, who forced a ballot two years early for the second time since 2012, took 48.6 percent of the vote, enough to secure a majority in the 250-seat parliament, an independent election monitor said, citing 50 percent of ballots counted. The Socialist Party, led by Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic, was second with 11.2 percent, and the ultranationalist Radical Party, led by acquitted war-crimes suspect Vojislav Seselj, was third with 8 percent, IPSOS Strategic Marketing said. IPSOS, which conducted a parallel tally with the Election Commission, said four more parties made it into the assembly.