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Who has held power in Serbia, 1990 to 2026
An interactive timeline of every significant party since the first multi-party election: when it was...
Unequal representation of the ruling majority and opposition actors, and negative coverage of the most visible opposition list, marked television reporting between 21 and 27 September. Three-quarters of the time allocated to political actors went to representatives of the ruling majority, and a quarter to the opposition. That is a wider gap than in the previous week, when the split was 64 to 36.
There was no negative coverage of the ruling majority at all. It was portrayed neutrally in 67% of the time and positively in 33%. For the opposition, 37% of the time was negative, 57% neutral and 6% positive. Representatives of the ruling majority addressed the audience directly in 65% of their coverage, opposition representatives in 57%.
One qualification matters for reading those figures. All of the positive coverage of the opposition appeared in the election-list presentation blocks, which broadcast promotional clips supplied by the lists themselves. It is airtime the broadcasters are obliged to carry, not coverage they produced.
There was no negative coverage of the ruling majority at all. It was portrayed neutrally in 67% of the time and positively in 33%. For the opposition, 37% of the time was negative, 57% neutral and 6% positive. Representatives of the ruling majority addressed the audience directly in 65% of their coverage, opposition representatives in 57%.
One qualification matters for reading those figures. All of the positive coverage of the opposition appeared in the election-list presentation blocks, which broadcast promotional clips supplied by the lists themselves. It is airtime the broadcasters are obliged to carry, not coverage they produced.
The ruling majority received three-quarters of the airtime and no negative coverage at all
Share of political airtime in prime time, tone of coverage and role in coverage
Ruling majority 75%Opposition 25%
Tone of coverage
Ruling majority
Negative 0%Neutral 67%Positive 33%
Opposition
Negative 37%Neutral 57%Positive 6%
Role in coverage
Ruling majority
Active 65%Passive 35%
Opposition
Active 57%Passive 43%
All of the positive coverage of the opposition appeared in the election-list presentation blocks, which broadcast promotional clips supplied by the lists themselves.
Source: CRTA Election Observation Mission media monitoring, prime time (18:00-24:00), 21-27 September 2026. Sample: TV channels with national coverage.
Among opposition actors, the Student List received the most time - 39% of all airtime allocated to the opposition - and was at the same time the most negatively portrayed. In 86% of the time the Student List was presented negatively, and it addressed the audience directly in only 15%. Authentic Right received 15% of the opposition's time, was covered predominantly neutrally (84%) and addressed the audience directly in 86% of its coverage. Every other list was represented with five per cent of the time or less.
The Student List received the largest share of opposition airtime and was portrayed predominantly negatively
Share of opposition airtime in prime time, tone of coverage and active or passive role
Student List39%
Tone of coverage
Negative 86%Neutral 10%Positive 4%
Role in coverage
Active 15%Passive 85%
Movement "We - The Strength of the People"20%
Tone of coverage
Negative 0%Neutral 100%Positive 0%
Role in coverage
Active 94%Passive 6%
Authentic Right15%
Tone of coverage
Negative 3%Neutral 84%Positive 13%
Role in coverage
Active 86%Passive 14%
We - Voice from the People9%
Tone of coverage
Negative 0%Neutral 99%Positive 1%
Role in coverage
Active 98%Passive 2%
People's Choice8%
Tone of coverage
Negative 7%Neutral 93%Positive 0%
Role in coverage
Active 86%Passive 14%
European Serbia5%
Tone of coverage
Negative 12%Neutral 53%Positive 35%
Role in coverage
Active 59%Passive 41%
Strength of Serbia Movement1%
Tone of coverage
Negative 0%Neutral 58%Positive 42%
Role in coverage
Active 59%Passive 41%
Other3%
Tone of coverage
Negative 70%Neutral 26%Positive 4%
Role in coverage
Active 12%Passive 88%
The Student List accounted for 39% of opposition airtime; 86% of its coverage was negative and it addressed the audience directly in only 15% of it. Every other list apart from Authentic Right (15%) received five per cent or less.
Source: CRTA Election Observation Mission media monitoring, prime time (18:00-24:00), 21-27 September 2026. Sample: TV channels with national coverage.
Taken as a whole, President Aleksandar Vučić received 60% of the time allocated to all political actors. He alone received more airtime than the entire opposition (25%), and four times more than all other representatives of the ruling majority combined (15%). He was portrayed either neutrally (66%) or positively (34%), and addressed the audience directly in 68% of the time. In the previous week his share was 46%.
President Vučić received more airtime than the entire opposition
Share of political airtime in prime time, tone of coverage and direct access to the audience
Aleksandar VučićRuling majority without VučićOpposition
Tone of Vučić coverage
Negative 0%Neutral 66%Positive 34%
Role of Vučić coverage
Active 68%Passive 32%
Source: CRTA Election Observation Mission media monitoring, prime time (18:00-24:00), 21-27 September 2026. Sample: TV channels with national coverage.
On Radio Television of Serbia the imbalance was more pronounced still. On RTS 1, representatives of the ruling majority received 93% of the time and the opposition only 7%. RTS 1 covered the ruling majority neutrally (72%) or positively (28%), with no negative coverage. Representatives of the ruling majority addressed the audience directly in 79% of the time, opposition representatives in 73%.
The opposition's coverage on the public broadcaster was predominantly positive in tone (64%), neutral in 34% and negative in 2%. Here too the qualification applies, and more strictly: all of the positive coverage of the opposition appeared solely in the election-list presentation blocks. Read on its own, the figure would suggest favourable coverage that the broadcaster did not produce.
The opposition's coverage on the public broadcaster was predominantly positive in tone (64%), neutral in 34% and negative in 2%. Here too the qualification applies, and more strictly: all of the positive coverage of the opposition appeared solely in the election-list presentation blocks. Read on its own, the figure would suggest favourable coverage that the broadcaster did not produce.
On RTS the ruling majority received 93% of the airtime and no negative coverage
Share of political airtime on RTS 1, tone of coverage and role in coverage
Ruling majority 93%Opposition 7%
Tone of coverage
Ruling majority
Negative 0%Neutral 72%Positive 28%
Opposition
Negative 2%Neutral 34%Positive 64%
Role in coverage
Ruling majority
Active 79%Passive 21%
Opposition
Active 73%Passive 27%
All of the positive coverage of the opposition on RTS appeared solely in the election-list presentation blocks, which broadcast promotional clips supplied by the lists themselves. Read on its own, the figure would suggest favourable coverage that the broadcaster did not produce.
Source: CRTA Election Observation Mission media monitoring, prime time (18:00-24:00), 21-27 September 2026. Sample: RTS 1.
President Vučić received 78% of the total time allocated to all political actors on RTS 1, almost eleven times more than the entire opposition. He was portrayed neutrally (73%) or positively (27%), and addressed the audience directly in 82% of the time. In the previous week his share on the public broadcaster was 50%.
On RTS, Vučić received almost eleven times more airtime than the entire opposition
Share of political airtime on RTS 1, tone of coverage and direct access to the audience
Aleksandar VučićRuling majority without VučićOpposition
Tone of Vučić coverage
Negative 0%Neutral 73%Positive 27%
Role of Vučić coverage
Active 82%Passive 18%
Vučić alone received 78% of the airtime on the public broadcaster, against 7% for the whole opposition and 15% for the rest of the ruling majority.
Source: CRTA Election Observation Mission media monitoring, prime time (18:00-24:00), 21-27 September 2026. Sample: RTS 1.
This is the second edition of the weekly review. The figures come from the media monitoring of the CRTA Election Observation Mission, conducted on commercial television channels with national coverage and on RTS 1, in prime time between 18:00 and 24:00. CRTA published its own account of the week's findings on its website.
