Kosovo
RFE/RL: Kosovo Serbs describe pressure to vote for the SNS in Serbia's Oct. 25 elections
Employees of Belgrade-run institutions in Kosovo say they get “orders” from their directors; more than 115,000 voters with addresses in Kosovo will vote at 60 polling stations in Serbia.
By ANN Newsroom · Newsroom
October 21, 2026, 11:00 · Updated 12:24 · 2 min read
In brief
- Four anonymous sources told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty they are being pressured to vote for the Serbian Progressive Party.
- One source said they received an SNS form in September to collect the details of 30 “secure votes.”
- The SNS and Srpska Lista did not respond to the claims; the SNS has denied such accusations in the past.
Serb voters from Kosovo face pressure ahead of Serbia's early parliamentary elections on Sunday, Oct. 25, according to an investigation by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Four sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of losing their jobs, said employees of institutions operating under Belgrade's authority are being urged to vote for President Aleksandar Vučić's Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).
According to them, pressure also comes from officials of Srpska Lista, which governs the 10 Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo. One of them said employees receive orders from their directors on whom to vote for.
Lists of “secure votes”
Another source said that in September they received an SNS form asking for the names, addresses and phone numbers of 30 people whose votes the party would “secure.” Two others said they had themselves been registered on such lists. Serbia's Criminal Code provides for up to three years in prison both for influencing voting through force or threats and for vote buying.
Voting across the border
Of about 6.45 million registered voters in Serbia, more than 115,000 have an address in Kosovo. They will vote at 60 polling stations in four municipalities near the border: Vranje, Raška, Tutin and Kuršumlija. Since 2022, after Pristina did not allow polling stations to open on its territory, voters have been bused to Serbia. In the last elections, their turnout was below 25%, and more than 80% of those who voted backed the ruling coalition.
The Serbian state is the largest employer in Serb-majority areas, with more than 30,000 employees. The Serbian organization CRTA has documented cases of pressure in at least 16 cities and municipalities in Serbia. The SNS and Srpska Lista had not responded to RFE/RL's questions by the time of publication.
Meanwhile, political debate continues in Kosovo over how Serbs vote, while Pristina calls the parallel institutions funded by Belgrade illegal.
