Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Wednesday called the Balkan country's parliamentary elections for April 26, a vote in which his centre-right party once again appears as the strong favourite. "I wish a democratic atmosphere, that rivals be respected," Vucic said as he announced the date in a speech broadcast live on state-run RTS television. Serbians will vote for 250 deputies to replace those elected in 2016 in the Balkan country of seven million. Local elections in Serbia's northern Vojvodina region will be held on the same day. Vucic's Serbian Progressive Party has dominated the country's political life since 2012. Along with its allies it has a comfortable majority in the parliament, whose work is boycotted by most opposition parties. The Alliance for Serbia and the Movement of Free Citizens, which say they are the only viable opposition to Vucic, plan to boycott the parliamentary elections, casting doubt on the conditions for free and fair elections. Like other Balkan countries, Serbia faces a demographic challenge with an ageing population and a high emigration rate. mat/ljv/gd