Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic dissolved parliament on Wednesday and called an early election on Dec. 17, aiming to cement his authority as he works out how to normalise ties with Kosovo, the main precondition for EU membership,
Reuters reports.
The parliamentary election will coincide with local votes in 65 municipalities, including the capital Belgrade.
Experts say the vote and an absence of a working parliament, will allow Vucic to buy time and delay decisions over ties with independent and predominantly Albanian Kosovo, which Serbia still sees as its southern province.
"We are living in a time in which it is necessary for all of us to be united in the struggle for vital ... interests of Serbia, in which we will be under numerous pressures, both because of our position on Kosovo, and because of other regional and global issues," Vucic said after signing the decree.
Ursula von der Leyen, the EU executive's president, said during a visit to Belgrade on Tuesday that both Serbia and Kosovo must step up their efforts to normalise relations after the most recent flare-up of violence, if they want to join the bloc.
Serbia also needs to join Western sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, root out corruption and organised crime, reform the economy, improve the judiciary, the business climate and its human rights record.
Commentators say Vucic's move is also aimed at solidifying his own ranks and reforming his ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), whose popularity has been dented after months of opposition protests, following the two mass shootings in May.
