Serbian elections 2023: Vučić’s party wins, Hungarian party remains in government

Early parliamentary elections were held in Serbia, where the Hungarian Association of Vojvodina (VMSZ) will have at least as many seats as before.

The ruling right-wing Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) of President Aleksandar Vučić is in the lead in a snap parliamentary election, Reuters said. According to projections by the pollsters, the SNS won 47 percent of the vote and is expected to hold about 130 seats in the 250-member assembly.

The second largest party, Serbia Against Violence (SPN) alliance, a centrist coalition won only about 23 percent of votes, according to the projections.

VMSZ has been a huge success

We have at least as many votes and seats as in the previous election, which means that we have achieved our electoral goals, and I can say that the Hungarian Association of Vojvodina (VMSZ) has won, Bálint Pásztor, acting president of the Hungarian Association of Vojvodina, stressed at a press conference late on Sunday.

Pásztor stressed that the party’s goal was to keep its independent parliamentary group in the Belgrade parliament – which requires five MPs – and that it had achieved this goal according to all preliminary results.

He pointed out that the VMSZ had managed to stay strong after a difficult period, following the death of party president István Pásztor. He said that many people expected the party to disintegrate after such a tragedy, but this was not the case, the party remained united and strong, and the Hungarians of Vojvodina supported the party.

The Hungarian Association of Vojvodina has been a member of the ruling coalition since 2014 and expects to continue to play such a role in the coming period. It intends to participate in government work at the level of state secretary.

In addition to early parliamentary elections in Serbia, provincial elections were also held in Vojvodina (Vajdaság). In the province of Vojvodina, the VMSZ has the third largest parliamentary group, ahead of several other Serbian parties. Only the list of the Serbian Progressive Party and the opposition list Serbia Against Violence were ahead of the Hungarian Association of Vojvodina.

Bálint Pásztor thanked the Hungarian government and Fidesz for the support they had given the VMSZ during the campaign.

Foreign minister Péter Szijjártó was speaking at the campaign closing event of the ethnic Hungarian VMSZ, details HERE.

Read more news about Serbia Serbia HERE.

Deputy PM congratulates VMSZ on election success

Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén congratulated on behalf of the Hungarian government the Hungarian Association of Vojvodina (VMSZ) on its success at the Serbian elections in a post late on Sunday.

The Hungarian government is a strong ally of the current Serbian government in the region, and the cooperation between Vučić and Orbán is expected to continue.

Potápi hails ethnic Hungarian party’s success in Serbia election

The Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (VMSZ) had achieved a “great and shining” victory in Serbia’s recent general election, Árpád János Potápi, the prime ministerial state secretary for Hungarian communities abroad, said on Monday, adding that VMSZ had become “the most successful ethnic Hungarian party in the Carpathian Basin.

VMSZ has proved in the past 32 years that “the Hungarian community must have a single ethnic party” in a given country, Potápi told an event. He highlighted the efforts of VMSZ activists in the election campaign, “reaching out practically to each and every Hungarian” in Vojvodina, adding that the ethnic party had retained its earlier position in Serbia’s parliament.

Bálint Pásztor, the acting leader of VMSZ, said his party had garnered 62,000 votes, which translates into six seats in parliament.