Printing of ballot papers for early parliamentary elections begins in Serbia

(Patria) - The printing of ballot papers for the early parliamentary elections scheduled for December 17 has begun at the printing house of the Public Enterprise "Službeni glasnik" in Belgrade.

The Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) announced that the number of ballot papers to be printed will equal the number of voters - 6,500,165.

The ballot papers will be light apricot in color, reports RSE.

A total of 18 lists with 2,817 candidates have been registered to participate in the early parliamentary elections, vying for 250 seats in parliament.

RIK President Vladimir Dimitrijević said that voting will take place at a total of 8,273 polling stations, of which 29 will be in institutions for the execution of criminal sanctions, and 81 abroad in 35 countries.

The Assembly of Serbia elects 250 deputies. A parliamentary seat will be awarded to those lists that win at least three percent of the total number of votes in the elections.

The early elections on December 17 were called at the request of part of the opposition parties, following months of protests by citizens and political activists across Serbia, dissatisfied with the state's response to two mass shootings in early May in Belgrade and the vicinity of Mladenovac, in which 19 people, mostly children, were killed.