Serbia Probes Care Home Incident at Polls
Key Facts
- Care home: Unknown people entered a polling station inside a care home in Mladenovac, a town near Belgrade.
- Who says: Vladimir Dimitrijević chairs the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK), Serbia’s election authority.
- Claim: He said the intruders posed as observers and pressured residents who cannot move around.
- Second case: Prosecutors in Sombor, a northern city, are probing a laptop and documents found in Deronje.
- Prediction markets: Kalshi, a US-regulated market, prices President Vučić’s ruling Progressive Party (SNS) list 54%, the protest-born student list 48% (1:43 p.m. ET).
Published Sunday, 25 October, 1:46 p.m. ET · Source: Republic Electoral Commission, Sombor Prosecutor’s Office
Serbia’s election authority said on Sunday that unknown people burst into a care home that doubles as a polling station in Mladenovac, a town near Belgrade. The Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) chair said they claimed to be observers and pressured residents who cannot move around.
Polls in the snap parliamentary election close at 20:00 CET (Central European Time; 3:00 p.m. ET). Follow every development in our Serbia Election 2026 coverage, and see our earlier turnout report.
RIK Chair Describes Care Home Intrusion
RIK chair Vladimir Dimitrijević told a press conference at 17:00 CET (12:00 p.m. ET) that “unknown persons” entered the care home, claiming to be observers. He said they exerted “impermissible pressure” on residents, including people who cannot move.
Police were alerted and were at the scene, he said, and he promised more information at the next RIK press conference. He said it happened just before the briefing, so he had no further detail.
Dimitrijević said voting was otherwise proceeding regularly, based on reports from local election commissions and polling boards. He described the other problems as minor and said polling boards resolved them, with the Interior Ministry (MUP) stepping in where they could not.
Prosecutors Probe Laptop and Documents
The Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Sombor, a city in northern Serbia, said a laptop and several A4 documents were found in a hospitality venue in Deronje, a village in the north of the country. It said they are suspected of being linked to the election process and were handed to police in Odžaci, a town in northern Serbia.
Prosecutors told police to gather information without delay and to file a report so they can decide on further steps in the early preliminary stage. The office has not said what the documents contain or who left them.
In a separate statement, Sombor prosecutors said that shortly before 15:00 CET they received two electronic messages from the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office, a more senior body, in Novi Sad, Serbia’s second-largest city. The messages passed on citizens’ reports of alleged irregularities at polling stations on two streets in Sombor and in Apatin, a town near Sombor.
Checks found that no polling stations exist at those addresses, and neither do the local communities named in the reports. Prosecutors also said there were no irregularities at the polling stations with the reported numbers, 39 and 13.
What Prediction Markets Say
On Kalshi, the SNS-led list, President Aleksandar Vučić’s ruling Serbian Progressive Party, was priced at 54% to win the parliamentary election and the student-backed Student List at 48%, at 1:43 p.m. ET on 25 October. The market had 97,961 contracts traded; the two prices do not add to 100% because each is a separate last-traded bet.
Our earlier Sunday report had the SNS-led list at 75% and the Student List at 26% at 4:27 a.m. ET. Kalshi is regulated in the US by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and its prices are bets, not polls.
Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.
Why Election-Day Pressure Claims Matter
The vote is mainly a contest between Vučić’s ruling camp and the student-backed Student List, born of nearly two years of protests, as our election-day report explained. Both sides have claimed to be ahead, and the integrity of the vote is a central issue, as our Saturday report noted.
The Mladenovac claim concerns residents who cannot move around, and police have not yet reported what they found. The Sombor checks, by contrast, found no irregularities at the two reported polling stations.
What It Means for You
If you follow European politics from the United States, these cases show how contested the integrity of Serbia’s vote already is before any result. Allegations on election day often shape how voters, observers and foreign governments judge the outcome.
If you are travelling to Serbia, expect heavy attention around the count in Belgrade and check your government’s travel advice. See also our report on the vote-silence period.
What Is Not Known
Dimitrijević did not say who the intruders were, which group they claimed to represent or whether anyone has been detained. The RIK chair gave no estimate of how many residents were affected.
Prosecutors have not said whether the Deronje laptop and documents relate to any party or list. It is unclear whether the two cases are connected, and no result or official turnout figure is part of this report.
Sources
N1 (Serbian news channel) · Nova.rs (Serbian news site) · N1 (Sombor prosecutors’ statement) · Republika (Serbian news portal) · Republic Electoral Commission of Serbia · Kalshi (US prediction market) · The Rio Times Serbia election updates
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened at the polling station in Mladenovac?
RIK chair Vladimir Dimitrijević said unknown people entered a care home that houses a polling station. He said they claimed to be observers and pressured residents who cannot move, and that police were on the scene.
What did prosecutors find in Deronje?
The Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Sombor said a laptop and several A4 documents were found in a hospitality venue in Deronje. It suspects a link to the election process and ordered police to gather information.
When do polls close in Serbia’s election?
Polls close at 20:00 CET on Sunday 25 October 2026, which is 3:00 p.m. ET. The vote fills all 250 seats of the National Assembly.
What does RIK do in Serbia’s election?
The Republic Electoral Commission is the state body that runs the vote and publishes the official result. Its chair briefs reporters during election day.
What do prediction markets say about the vote?
On Kalshi, Vučić’s ruling SNS-led list was priced at 54% and the student-backed Student List at 48% to win at 1:43 p.m. ET on 25 October. These are real-money bets, not polls or forecasts.