The opposition leader from Serbia, with Romanian origins, went on hunger strike

The health condition of Marinika Tepic, the leader with Romanian origins of the opposition in Serbia, has worsened. The woman has been on hunger strike for nine days, as a sign of protest against election fraud. She receives infusions twice a day and despite doctors’ pleas, refuses to quit. She says he will do so only after President Aleksandar Vucici agrees to hold a new election.

“It’s not something stupid, it’s not a thoughtless act. There is a fight going on in Serbia today, a fight against election theft, a fight for our freedom. We demand that the elections be annulled and that a new election be held under different conditions. We are asking for a review of the electoral process, because there is a lot of evidence that the elections were rigged. The elections were neither fair nor democratic, there were many machinations, crimes, cases of bribery and corruption, voters were brought from other areas, the same people voted in several precincts, there were votes in the names of deceased people. I miss my children, my family… That’s it… I tell them together that one day they won’t be ashamed anymore,” said Marinika Tepic, Serbian opposition leader.

Marinika Tepic is on hunger strike together with six other deputies to denounce the frauds. Her party has declared that her health is “at risk”, but the woman refuses to give up her fight. The MP is the leader of the opposition coalition against President Aleksandar Vucic.

The election attracted a lot of criticism after a team of international observers – including representatives of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) – denounced a series of “irregularities”, including “vote buying” and “inflated ballot boxes”.

Despite the wave of criticism, the Serbian president remained steadfast. “I would like to ask all those who are on hunger strike not to do it. They can organize demonstrations every day, I’m used to demonstrations”, he declared in a televised speech on Sunday.

Also on Sunday, demonstrators challenging the results of Serbia’s recent legislative elections attacked Belgrade’s town hall, smashing windows with stones, before being pushed back by police.