Vucic 'Will Use Presidency to Tighten Grip Over Serbia'

After ruling the country for three years as Prime Minister, Vucic will be sworn in as Serbia's new President in parliament on Wednesday.

His victory in the April 2 elections prompted some foreign politicians to congratulate him, predicting that he would contribute to regional stability and to the EU accession process.

However, observers in the Balkans say that, as president, Vucic will continue to strengthen his control over the country's institutions.

Marko Kmezic, a senior researcher at the Centre for Southeast European Studies at the University of Graz, in Austria, said Vucic's presidency "will see the continuation of democratic backsliding, embodied in clientilism, state capture by ruling parties, patronage, and control over the media ,which began a decade ago".

"With the prospect of EU membership fading away for the Western Balkan countries, political leaders are feeling less pressure to govern within the confines of democratic institutions or to protect press freedom and the rule of law," he added.

"Hence, I believe that Vucic will continue, at least declaratorily, to support Serbia's EU accession, but will also combine it with stronger domestic control," Kmezic told BIRN.

Vucic was elected President of Serbia after winning 55 per cent of votes in the April 2 elections, almost 40 per cent more then second-ranked former ombudsman, Sasa Jankovic.

However, both opposition and NGOs monitoring the elections said the campaign was unfair, as the media strongly favoured Vucic.

Freedom House's 2017 Nations in Transit report, which was published in April, assigned Serbia its lowest "democracy score" in 2016 since 2005.

Both Kmezic and Eric Gordy, a senior lecturer from University College London, doubt that the EU...