More than the municipality: Why Vračar is so important for progressives

"The average Vračar is not difficult to recognize. He is unreservedly convinced that he lives in the most beautiful part of the city. Those who do not agree with that do not live in Vračar, but they would like to, hence the frustration. In that somewhat blasé self-sufficiency, the resident of Vračar will sometimes lose his compass, forgetting that it is only one municipality and that you don't need an ausweis to move somewhere." Anna Maria Rossi once wrote in "Vremen".

Vračar is the smallest municipality in Belgrade, but in the populist progressive rhetoric it has become a symbol of everything non-Serbian and anti-state: those who are against their country because they are against Aleksandar Vučić live there, who do not watch Pink, who have seen through all the progressive scams and deceptions, all in all those who should be trampled and put in their place in this system of government. In the projection of the progressive film, rich people live in Vračar who do not understand the hardships of honest, poor Serbs, while of course one does not mean Goran Vesić and the other residents of New Vračar from the Serbian Progressive Party who moved there en masse.

Hence Vučić's shameful remark immediately after the mass murder of students in "Ribnikar" on May 3 last year about some privileged children of privileged parents there, that was the first thing that came to his mind. Because Vračar is treated as enemy territory, SNS-vrhuška did not dare to reconcile with "Ribnikara" in the days after the tragedy, to lay a flower and pay tribute to the murdered children.

In the fan-hooligan way of thinking of the president of the state, the victory of his progressive-radical list in Vračar always means a victory on the away field, completely killing the opponent, the ultimate proof that they can't do anything to him, and he can do everything to them. That is why special attention in the progressive centers for smearing is given to Vračar in every election.

 And because a square meter is expensive in this municipality, it is necessary to demolish the old Vračar buildings that are or should be under protection, in order to build disproportionately bulky buildings that bring fabulous profits, without accidentally finding a Vračar in the municipality local government that could cause problems. Just imagine that a resident of Novi Vrac or SNS-investor needs a permit from the Municipality and that there is no one to arrange it for him along party lines.

 Editing of election results

 The conditions were what they were, but regardless, the opposition was beaten to the bone in the local elections on June 2, at least as far as the number of municipalities and cities in which the list with the name of Aleksandar Vučić won power. The exception is, if the municipalities where the majority of national minorities live are excluded, only the Belgrade municipality of Stari grad where the SNS with all its satellites, by all accounts, will not be able to form the government.

The exceptions are the municipalities of Novi Belgrade and the city of Nis, where the opposition claims to have won the majority, and the government disputes this.

This includes Vračar.

 The coalition "Biramo Beograd" announced that at yesterday's session of the Municipal Election Commission in Vračar, there was a "gross alteration of the electoral will of the citizens, as the minutes were subsequently redone without any basis under the pretext of allegedly technical corrections at four polling stations."

 The announcement of the coalition states that the quotient was changed by such a reshuffle, and that instead of the original 28, the list "Biramo Vračar" now has 27 mandates, that the list "Vračar to Vračarci - the society for the beautification of Vračar" got a third mandate, and the minority list of Greeks (where Greeks in Vračar!?) remained with one councilor seat, N1 reported.

"With this subsequent redistribution, the balance of power has completely changed, and now the Serbian Progressive Party with its phantom lists has a falsified majority of 32 mandates, compared to the opposition's 31 mandates," the announcement reads.

They add that it is quite clear that last night in Vračar there was an "attempt to change the electoral will of the citizens in the crudest way and to falsify the minutes, as was already attempted in New Belgrade and Niš, even though the voters in these municipalities and Nišlije, despite all the obstructions , clearly stated that they want changes and voted in the majority for the opposition lists".

They also said that their legal team will fight to preserve the electoral will of the citizens and will not allow the hijacking of any city or municipality.

How is the result redrawn?

"The list 'Biramo Vračar' had the largest number of votes, and then yesterday, subsequently, the Municipal Election Commission changed the record to four polling stations, and based on that, the SNS with one more mandate, together with the phantom electoral lists, has the majority to form the municipal government." , Bojana Matić, co-president of the witch doctor committee of the Green-Left Front, tells "Vreme" that it is "inadmissible" for the minutes to be redone afterwards.

She explains how the electoral will of the citizens of Vračar was changed:

At polling station no. 56 in the Svetozar Markovoić school, 14 invalid ballots were turned into 10. Those 4 votes were assigned to the "Society for the Beautification of Vračar".

At polling station no. 43 Siniša Nikolajević out of 15 invalid votes, 11 remained, and 4 votes went to, guess who, the "Society for the Beautification of Vračar".

Thus, "Biramo Vračar" was left without one mandate, "Society for the Beautification of Vračar" got one more mandate, and the Serbian Progressive Party got the result it needs to form the municipal government.

A recurring scenario

He states that this scenario is constantly repeated in Vračar, that the opposition, despite all possible abuses of the government, wins a victory that is then taken away from it through various post-election machinations.

Bojana Matić reminds that in the December elections, 50 percent of citizens voted for the opposition, and only 27 percent for SNS. That is why they "preventively" shot down Sava Manojlović's list "I am Belgrade", because they knew that otherwise, despite all the machinations, they would not be able to win the majority.

Mobile teams of "Biramo Vračar" caught SNS activists in the act with prepared fake voter lists in the "Rasplet" restaurant, formerly "Zaplet", on election day, June 2, which was also noted by the international observation mission ODIHR.

And what now?

"We will continue our institutional and non-institutional struggle. For the first time, the ZLF will have 10 councilors in the Vračar Municipal Assembly, and our coalition will have 27, so we will be able to increase transparency in the work of the municipality," says Bojana Matić for "Vreme" and does not rule out protests either.

The spirit of rebellion, however, is not really felt in witches' cafes for now. Not even in New Belgrade. Not even in Nis. If the citizens put up with the fact that the government takes away their right to choose as if they are not a man - then nothing.

Because SNS understands politics exactly like this: everything is allowed, so let the stronger, more persistent and more unscrupulous win. And in Vračar, they are counting on the fact that the "spoiled" residents of Vračar are not ready for a street fight, that the revolt is limited to verbal protest. Thus, for years, this part of Belgrade has had the halo of an opposition municipality, while it is actually ruled by the Serbian Progressive Party, i.e. Aleksandar Vučić, who never misses an opportunity to speak with the greatest contempt about Vračarci.