In pics | At least 8 police officers injured, 38 arrested as protests grip Serbia over election

At least eight policemen were injured and 38 people detained during and after an opposition protest over election results, said the Serbian police, on Monday (Dec 25).

This comes a day after thousands gathered in the centre of Belgrade to demand the annulment of parliamentary and local elections held a week ago which was deemed unfair by international observers. 

Images and videos show protesters breaking down windows and glass at the main entrance of the town hall. Later, on Sunday the reportedly police used pepper spray to disperse them around 10:00 pm (local time).

Ivica Ivkovic, head of the police administration, said two of the eight wounded policemen sustained serious injuries. 

"We will continue to work to maintain peace and order and we expect to see more arrests in relations with protests last night," said Ivkovic during a press conference on Monday. 

The opposition parties accused police of excessive force to disperse opposition protesters who tried to force their way into the Belgrade's city council building.

The police intervened after the protesters turned violent, smashing windows of the city hall. The riot police used pepper spray to repel the opposition leaders.

A report by Reuters citing social networks said some footage of policemen beating up men in streets near the town hall. 

Belgrade has been witnessing massive opposition protests after they raised concerns over alleged fraud in last week’s general elections where the ruling party led by President Aleksandar Vucic emerged victorious.

Opposition parties say the elections were manipulated, a claim dismissed as “rubbish and lies” by the president.

However, domestic and international observers have also flagged “irregularities” in the elections, amidst claims of ballot box stuffing and vote buying.

The observers also noted unjust conditions for opposition candidates due to media bias, abuse of public resources and the president's dominance during the campaign. 

Amidst claims of large-scale irregularities, Serbia’s election commission on Wednesday said it will be re-running elections on at least 30 polling stations, out of 8,000 nationwide.

Protests continued on Monday (Dec 25) as hundreds of students blocked the streets outside Serbian ministries in the capital city demanding an inspection of voters' list of parliamentary and local elections. 

Serbian students were seen banging pots and chanting "Disclose ballot lists!" as they protested outside the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-government responsible for the election lists. The crowd also staged a sit-in at the foreign ministry office.

Meanwhile, the opposition led by the centre-left alliance Serbia Against Violence said the protests would continue on Monday evening.

The accusations of the elections being manipulated have been dismissed as “rubbish and lies” by the president who has termed these protests an attempt to overthrow the government orchestrated from abroad. 

“This was an attempted violent takeover of the state institutions of the Republic of Serbia,” Vucic told the pro-government Pink TV. 

Over the last weekend, the populist ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) won 46.72 per cent in snap parliamentary elections, according to state election commission preliminary results.

However, on Monday, the international monitoring mission said SNS gained an unfair advantage. Vucic has since maintained that the elections were fair. 

Serbia Against Violence came second in the election with 23.56 per cent and the Socialist Party of Serbia third with 6.56 per cent.