Leaders and activists of parties gathered in the Alliance for Serbia (SzS) opposition bloc on Monday continued their campaign to advocate for a boycott of parliamentary elections next spring, pointing to the complete media monopoly of the governing Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).

The authorities hold the citizens and even public opinion “in a state of hypnosis, because they are denied basic information about the real state of the country, as if we were living in the Middle Ages,” Together for Serbia party leader Nebojsa Zelenovic said during a visit to the village of Dublje, municipality of Bogatic, western part of the country. “Aleksandar Vucic has appeared on the country-wide TV stations 793 times a month, or 26.4 times a day, and in the same period, none of the opposition leaders appeared in these media at all,” according to Zelenovic, who is also the mayor of Sabac.

“Media torture begins in morning programs involving quasi-journalists, paid analysts and ruling party officials who speak hate and intolerance speech. At noon, Vucic appears at an event or extraordinary press conference, uttering the gravest insults and untruths in capacity of the president of the state not only at the expense of the opposition, but also aggressively addressing journalists who ask him an unpleasant question, or swooping down on a public figure who dares to make any critical stance on social media,” he said. “After that, endless repetition and reruns of his appearance are broadcast on all TV stations with country-wide frequency and TV news till midnight. In addition, every few days, in primetime, citizens have the opportunity to watch his exclusive interviews live. And the same every day - for the New Year and Easter and when basketball or volleyball players win,” Zelenovic said.

“It is not crucial whether the opposition will parry Vucic regarding time, but the citizens have the right to hear a different opinion. (...) Absolutely anyone who dares to voice any criticism or doubt about the authorities’ moves is forbidden,” he added.