The alliance was preceded by the
Alliance for Serbia and
United Opposition of Serbia (UOPS) coalitions, both of which had existed between 2018 and January 2021. Coalition parties temporarily suspended their cooperation after the dissolution of UOPS, although they resumed cooperation around June 2021. The coalition was officially renewed in November 2021 and formalised in February 2022, under the name United Serbia to prepare for the 2022 general elections. The alliance nominated
Zdravko Ponoš as their presidential candidate,
Marinika Tepić as the head of their national parliamentary list, and
Vladeta Janković as the candidate for mayor of Belgrade.
UZPS was composed of the
Party of Freedom and Justice,
People's Party,
Democratic Party,
Movement of Free Citizens, and minor parties and movements. It campaigned under the "United for the Victory of Serbia" (UZPS) banner during the campaign period. Ponoš placed second behind incumbent president
Aleksandar Vučić, while the alliance won 38 seats in the
National Assembly and 26 seats in the
City Assembly of Belgrade. Following the elections, the alliance was faced with a series of conflicts, which ultimately led to its dissolution. SSP, PSG,
Movement for Reversal, and
USS Sloga continued their cooperation after the election by forming the
Ujedinjeni parliamentary group in the National Assembly and City Assembly of Belgrade.
History
Background
Shortly before the beginning of the
protests in 2018, the
Alliance for Serbia (SzS) was formed, as an initiative of
Dragan Đilas.[1] It was a major opposition coalition, that played a key role in Serbian politics until its dissolution in 2020.[2] The coalition boycotted the
2020 parliamentary election, claiming that "there were no conditions for free and fair elections".[3] Most of the parties decided to continue their cooperation, which led to the formation of the
United Opposition of Serbia (UOPS) in August 2020.[4] It remained unstable and was challenged with inter-party problems, which led to its dissolution that took place between December 2020 and January 2021.[5][6] It then split into two blocs, one that was gathered around the
Party of Freedom and Justice (SSP), and the other bloc gathered around the
People's Party (Narodna).[7][8]
Around June 2021, the parties resumed their cooperation.[9][10] In October, it was revealed to the public that SSP would begin the formation of another alliance for the
2022 general election.[11] Talks were held in November,[12] after which it was revealed that the parties reached an agreement on 23 November.[13] It was also revealed that
Marinika Tepić would head the parliamentary list.[14] During the talks,
Zdravko Ponoš stated that he would run for the presidency if "opposition parties unite themselves",[15] and in January 2022, he was proposed by SSP as joint presidential candidate.[16] Other members of the alliance confirmed their support during the following days.[17][18]Vladeta Janković, an
independent nominated by Narodna,[19] was also chosen as their ballot carrier for the
Belgrade City Assembly election.[20] The alliance was formalised on 2 February.[21][22]
2022 election and aftermath
Following the dissolution of the
National Assembly on 15 February, the United Serbia alliance began collecting signatures to submit their ballot lists.[23] The ballot list for the parliamentary election was submitted on 18 February, named "United for the Victory of Serbia", and it was supported by 13,007 valid signatures.[24][25] It campaigned also under the "a change from the root" slogan,[26] while its electoral campaign on 22 February, with its first rally being held in
Niš.[27] The alliance has held rallies in other cities across Serbia, such as
Belgrade,
Valjevo,
Prokuplje,
Aleksinac,
Sremska Mitrovica,
Kruševac and
Novi Pazar during the campaign period. The Republic Electoral Commission confirmed Ponoš as a presidential candidate on 6 March.[28][29] Its last campaign rally was held on the
Nikola Pašić Square, Belgrade on 31 March.[30] UZPS also took part in the
local elections, although in
Bor and
Smederevska Palanka the alliance parties participated on separate lists.[31][32] The alliance placed second in the general elections, winning 38 seats in total, while in the Belgrade City Assembly election, it won 26 seats.[33][34] Ponoš placed second in the presidential election behind incumbent president
Aleksandar Vučić, winning 18% of the popular vote.[35]
Following the election, the alliance was de facto dissolved,[36] while Ponoš left Narodna.[37] A week later, Đilas met with
Aleksandar Vučić to discuss the outcome of the Belgrade City Assembly election.[38] Narodna criticised the move, while
Zoran Lutovac, president of the
Democratic Party (DS), said that Đilas did not consult with other alliance members before the meeting.[39][40] Tepić accused Narodna of
populism.[41] Lutovac had also stated that UZPS was "just a pre-election alliance", and that he would prefer to create a wide alliance of moderate parties.[42] Regarding the parliamentary groups, Lutovac said that the parties would not form a joint parliamentary group that would be composed of parties inside the alliance.[43]Pavle Grbović, the leader of the
Movement of Free Citizens (PSG), stated that his party might leave the alliance to continue alone.[44] He had later stated that the alliance "practically doesn't exist anymore".[45] On 28 May, it was announced that the SSP, PSG,
Movement for Reversal (PZP) and
Sloga would continue their cooperation.[46] In August they formed the
Ujedinjeni parliamentary group, which stayed in opposition to the incumbent government.[47][48]
^The United for the Victory of Serbia coalition appeared on two ballot lists, one which was led by the Party of Freedom and Justice and the other which was led by the People's Party and Democratic Party.[31][66]
^The United for the Victory of Serbia coalition appeared on two ballot lists, one which was led by the People's Party and the other which was led by the Party of Freedom and Justice and Democratic Party.[32][71]
^Beckmann-Dierkes, Norbert; Rankić, Slađan (13 May 2022).
"Parlamentswahlen in Serbien 2022". Konrad Adenauer Foundation (in German). p. 2.
Archived from the original on 11 August 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.