Serbia

With elections days away, an investigation by Vreme alleges that hundreds of public sector workers are spending their office hours operating as a bot army for the ruling Progressive Party (SNS). The reports of state-funded digital campaigning come as the country prepares for a vote on October 25, a date drawing historic comparisons to the events of October 5.

The legal scrutiny around the leadership is tightening elsewhere. The Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office has forwarded a criminal complaint against President Aleksandar Vucic regarding illegal pardons to a higher court, while a Serbian IT expert has offered a $50,000 reward for information on who has been pardoned. Separately, prosecutors have opened an inquiry into the wealth of SNS operative Vladimir Mandic following reports of property acquisitions in Serbia and Montenegro.

The pre-election atmosphere has grown increasingly difficult for the press. Ten journalists from the independent TV N1 resigned this week following management changes, and the Association of Electronic Media warned that ruling party rallies have become unsafe for reporters. At one such rally in Novi Sad, the Ministry of Interior and independent monitors are already engaged in the traditional dispute over whether the crowd was as large as the government claimed.