After the release of a private video featuring opposition candidate Djordje Miketic for the upcoming Belgrade city elections, he has decided to step back from the campaign, citing the need to combat the ‘lies’ circulating about him. The leaked video, shared on social networks and later picked up by mainstream media, prompted Miketic’s withdrawal from the December 17 local elections campaign.
Vladimir Obradovic, the “Serbia against violence” coalition candidate for Belgrade Mayor, commented on Miketic’s withdrawal, stating that it was to avoid tainting the entire campaign with tabloid headlines. Obradovic condemned the video leak, describing it as the dirtiest act witnessed in political campaigning.
Miketic, positioned 29th on the candidates’ list for Belgrade city assembly members, confirmed the authenticity of the video and announced his intention to pursue legal action against the spread of false information about him. He asserted that he would not allow President Aleksandar Vucic to jeopardize the campaign for the liberation of Belgrade.
The sex tape involving Miketic and a female companion was broadcasted on Pink Television and featured in pro-government tabloids. President Vucic, during a Pink Television broadcast, had previously labeled Miketic a “human shame.” In response, Miketic accused the Serbian Intelligence Agency (BIA) of working for Vucic and the Progressive Party regime, targeting opposition figures and citizens.
Despite the BIA’s denial of responsibility for the video’s creation and distribution, they claimed it was “irrefutably established” that the video was made by a person in the same room as Miketic and the other individual in the footage. The opposition, particularly focused on Belgrade, views the upcoming local, provincial, and parliamentary elections as crucial, with Miketic’s withdrawal creating a stir in the political landscape.
