Postelection confusion in Serbia extended to a fifth day on April 29 and looked set to continue for at least another week after a partial recount led to one party being provisionally eliminated from parliament.
After dealing with complaints about irregularities, Serbia’s election commission said the far-right grouping of the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS)/Dveri movement had fallen below the 5 percent mark required to claim seats in parliament.
But the DSS/Dveri still has a chance to get 13 seats in parliament through a May 4 repeat vote at 15 polling stations that will affect about 17,000 votes.
Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic's Progressive Party (SNS) could benefit significantly if DSS/Dveri fails to clear the 5 percent barrier and those 13 seats in parliament are redistributed.
That’s because under Serbian electoral rules, any votes cast for parties that do not make it to parliament are distributed among the parties that do pass the 5-percent threshold.
That could allow Vucic’s SNS to gain about half of the 13 parliamentary seats DSS/Dveri would take if it clears the 5 percent barrier.
