The Sovereignists ( sr-cyrl, Суверенисти, Suverenisti) were a

right-wing populist Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right populism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics with populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti- elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establishm ...

political coalition A parliamentary group, parliamentary caucus or political group is a group consisting of members of different political parties or independent politicians with similar ideologies. Some parliamentary systems allow smaller political parties, who a ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

that participated in the 2022 general election. Initially formed as an agreement between the Enough is Enough (DJB) and

Healthy Serbia Healthy Serbia (, abbr. ZS) is a right-wing political party in Serbia. It was founded in 2017 by Milan Stamatović, the long-time mayor of Čajetina. History After leaving the Democratic Party of Serbia and further disagreements with the Pr ...

(ZS) political parties, it was transformed into a political coalition in January 2022. In the 2022 general election,

Branka Stamenković Branka Stamenković ( sr-Cyrl, Бранка Стаменковић; born 1968) is a Serbian politician. She served in the Serbian national assembly from 2016 to 2020 as a member of Enough Is Enough (DJB), which she led on an interim basis from N ...

was its presidential candidate. The coalition failed to cross the 3 percent threshold and won no seats in the

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History

Formation and early history

During a press conference on 30 November 2021, Saša Radulović, the leader of the Enough is Enough (DJB) political party, announced the formation the "Sovereignists"; initially it was a political agreement between DJB and

(ZS). DJB had previously used the "Sovereignists" label in the 2020 parliamentary election. The agreement was mainly formed to lower the potential

electoral fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud, or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share o ...

for the January 2022 constitutional referendum, by signing up election controllers.

Milan Stamatović Milan Stamatović (Serbian Cyrillic: Милан Стаматовић, ; born 24 May 1960) is a Serbian politician who has been the president of the municipality of Čajetina since 2004. He was an independent candidate in the 2017 Serbian preside ...

stated that one of the priorities of the Sovereignists would be to protect "

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". DJB claimed that the constitutional referendum was allegedly orchestrated at the will of the

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and

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. The party had called other opposition parties to participate in the campaign by stating their opposition to the constitutional changes. In December, the agreement also gained support from

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

anti-vax activist Jovana Stojković and historian

Čedomir Antić Čedomir Antić ( sr-Cyrl, Чедомир Антић, ; born 9 October 1974) is a Serbian historian, professor at The University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy and a political activist. Student activism During the 1996–1997 protests in ...

, while Radulović stated that the signatory parties might participate in the

general elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

in a joint coalition. Following the constitutional referendum in January 2022, the Sovereignists had claimed that 600,000 votes were falsified and that they would not recognise the results of the referendum. An appeal was filed to the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK), although it was eventually rejected. Its members participated in a protest which occurred a day after the referendum.

2022 election

In late January, the coalition was formalised, with Radulović announcing their joint participation in the general elections. Its parliamentary list was announced by RIK on 23 February. Five days later, the Sovereignists had announced

as their presidential candidate. The Sovereignists had campaigned in several cities across Serbia. The coalition won 2.2% of the popular vote and failed to cross the 3% threshold.

Political positions

The coalition rejected the left–right axis, instead claiming that the modern division is between globalists and sovereignists. The coalition also emphasised its

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views and its opposition to mandatory vaccination. Its representatives were also opposed to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

, and they had stated that "Serbia must not impose sanctions on Russia". The coalition also stated its support for the implementation of blockchain technology, while it also supported free textbooks for kindergartens and primary schools. Stamatović had commented that, "farmers should receive greater help from the government". Vojin Biljić stated that "Sovereignists would ensure government transparency". In an interview, presidential candidate Stamenković stated her support for the introduction of mandatory conscription into the army.

Members

Electoral performance

Parliamentary elections

Presidential elections

Belgrade City Assembly elections

References

{{Serbian political parties 2021 establishments in Serbia 2022 disestablishments in Serbia Defunct political party alliances in Serbia Eurosceptic parties in Serbia Nationalist parties in Serbia Political parties disestablished in 2022 Political parties established in 2021 Right-wing populism in Serbia Serb nationalist parties Organizations that oppose LGBTQ rights in Serbia Christian fundamentalist organizations in Europe Christian nationalism in Europe Anti-abortion organizations