Serbian police said Monday they had detained at least 38 people who participated in anti-government demonstrations over reported irregularities during a recent election.

The governing populist SNS party emerged as the winner of the parliamentary and local council ballot. The SNS won about 46% of the vote in the parliamentary elections, while the leading opposition coalition Serbia Against Violence (SPN) received 23.5%, according to official results. But opposition groups have questioned the validity of the contest, accusing the government of allowing unregistered voters from neighboring Bosnia to vote illegally in the capital.

Serbia Against Violence has been staging protests since the December 17 elections, claiming foul play in the ballot.

And tensions rose on Sunday evening as protesters tried to force their way into Belgrade's city council, before riot police responded with tear gas, pepper spray and batons.Senior Belgrade police official Ivica Ivkovic told reporters that those who were detained were facing charges of inciting violent change of constitutional order. He added that eight officers had been hurt in the melee.

The opposition, meanwhile, said that police had deployed excessive force and beat up some of its supporters.

International skepticism

Police "are ready and capable of countering any acts of violence with determination," police official Ivkovic said.

Several hundred university students and other citizens on Monday blocked traffic at a key Belgrade street that hosts government headquarters.

The country's ruling Serbian Progressive Party has denied rigging the vote, saying the elections were fair despite international observers — including representatives from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) — highlighting "irregularities" such as "vote buying" and "ballot box stuffing."

Vucic points finger at foreign actors

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic denounced the unrest in Belgrade that occurred Sunday. He described Sunday's protests as an attempt to overthrow the government with help from abroad.

Vucic said he has "irrefutable evidence" that the West is fanning the flames and met his Russian Ambassador Aleksandr Botsan-Kharchenko on Monday.

And Russia has accused Western countries of stirring up tensions in Serbia.

"The attempts of the collective West to destabilize the situation in the country are obvious," Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told state-run news agency RIA Novosti.

Russia welcomed the December 17 election results, saying they had hoped they would lead to the "further strengthening of friendship" between Moscow and Belgrade.

"There are attempts by third parties, including from abroad, to provoke the unrest in Belgrade," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday.

jsi/dj (AFP, AP)