Serbia's president says his party won majority of seats in parliament in snap elections

BELGRADE, Serbia

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic declared victory in snap parliamentary and local elections held on Sunday.

Vucic announced that his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), which appeared on the ballot under the name “Aleksandar Vucic — Serbia must not stop!,” won the majority of seats in the 250-seat parliament with 46.5% of the vote.

''Serbia must not stop! won 127 seats based on a sample of 76% of the counted votes,'' he said.

A total of 126 seats are needed for a majority in the assembly.

Vucic said Serbia must not stop! also won local elections for the capital Belgrade

He added that they also won 67-69 seats in the 120-member Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.

Vucic announced in May that he was stepping down as leader of the SNS, saying a new approach was needed to unite the country. But party representatives believe he is still their leader.

The SNS has been in power since 2012.

According to the Republic Election Commission, turnout was over 51.93% two hours before polling stations closed.

Serbia held snap general and local elections on Sunday for the country's 250-seat parliament, 120-member Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina and municipal councils.

Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. local time (0600GMT) and closed at 8 p.m. (1900GMT) for around 6.5 million eligible voters.

Voting took place at 8,273 election centers in Serbia and 81 election centers in 35 other countries.