NPR

In Serbia's Election, The Comedian Is A Serious Contender

Luka Maksimovic has made wild promises and offered cash for votes. "Life must be really bad for us if we are voting for a young comedian running for president under a fake persona," says a supporter.
Presidential candidate Luka Maksimovic, known as Beli, a 25-year-old satirist, campaigns in the Serbian town of Mladenovac on March 21.

The "most beautiful candidate in Serbia" (self-proclaimed) arrives in the sleepy town of Kovavica at midday, a loudspeaker perched atop his aging car.

He's tall, blue-eyed and wearing his signature white suit, tie and shoes, his long hair in a man-bun.

His name is Ljubisa Beli Preletacevic, or just Beli for short. It means "the guy in white who switches his beliefs for political gain," says the candidate himself.

"I'm every bad politician rolled up into one young, strong man," he declares.

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