Dacic in Smederevo urges voters to circle number 2
SPS leader Ivica Dacic, who heads the Stability Factor list, spoke in Smederevo about October 5, 2000 and urged voters to back number 2 in the October 25 election.
Ivica Dacic, president of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) and head of the “Ivica Dacic - Stability Factor” list, spoke at an election rally in Smederevo on Saturday, October 3, 2026. He urged voters to circle number 2 in the snap parliamentary election on October 25, and tied his campaign to the events of October 5, 2000, whose anniversary falls tomorrow.
What did Dacic say about October 5?
According to Dacic, October 5 was the biggest betrayed expectation and the biggest deception in Serbia’s history. He said that until October 4, 2000 everyone looked at Slobodan Milosevic as if he were a god, while by October 6 many were already saying they had never agreed with his politics. He compared the present situation with the promises made at the time that everything would be roses once Milosevic was toppled.
He framed his message through a comparison with today’s election:
Once again some young people are saying that the older generation will ruin their future, but everything is the opposite. We have forgotten that after those changes pensioners were left without pensions, workers were fired en masse, and students had tuition fees introduced.
Dacic added that a repeat of that scenario must be prevented. “We must stop this from happening again and stop the blockader list from winning,” he said. He did not name the student list in his speech, referring instead to the “blockader list,” as he calls it.
What does the SPS offer voters?
The “Ivica Dacic - Stability Factor” list is number 2 on the ballot. It is made up of the SPS, United Serbia, the Social Democratic Party of Serbia (SDPS) and the Greens of Serbia, and carries 250 candidates.
Dacic said the list should bring together “ordinary Serbian people.” The program he outlined includes:
- free education and healthcare
- a fairer distribution of national wealth
- protection of labor rights
He cast the call for October 25 as a sports metaphor: “Our ‘jersey’ with the number 2 should bring together the ordinary Serbian people who want the right to free education and healthcare, a fairer distribution of national wealth, protection of labor rights and similar everyday matters that the quiet majority of ordinary people care about.” He also urged citizens to “do their part of the job” on October 25, and said the SPS is “indestructible, just as the idea of the left will live forever.”
Kosovo and foreign policy
Dacic said the SPS stands behind a state policy that favors sovereignty and a country that decides on its own interests. He mentioned Kosovo in one short statement:
There will be no recognition of the independence of Kosovo and Metohija.
In his words, the policy of withdrawing recognition of Kosovo should continue, and as an example he noted that 28 countries have withdrawn it. He also said that Serbia has relied on friends throughout its history, above all Russia and China, while wishing to have close friendship with America too, as he put it, if possible.
What do the sources leave out?
The statements from the rally were published on the basis of an SPS press release and media reports. They contain no details about the hall where the rally was held, the number of people present, or whether other candidates from the list spoke alongside Dacic. The deadline for submitting lists to the Republic Electoral Commission for the October 25 election expires today.
