CDT: The problem with voter lists and voter migration should be included in the EU agenda

The issue of voter register integrity and residence records needs to be more strongly included in the framework of negotiations with the European Union (EU), the Center for Democratic Transition (CDT) assessed, warning that these issues, due to population migration and complex citizenship regimes in the region, have the potential to become a broader European challenge in the future.

The conclusions of the CDT publication “Case Study - Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and Serbia: The Balkan Quadrilateral: Voter Migration and Voter Register Boundaries” state that organized voter migration in the region affects the integrity of the electoral process.

The CDT pointed out that coordinated registration of residence or mobilization of voters outside their actual place of residence for the purpose of unauthorized influence on election results is increasingly becoming a factor in political crises, disputes between states, and the erosion of trust in the electoral process.

As they explained, the countries of the region have significantly different citizenship regimes and different approaches to the issue of voting rights, which is an indisputable sovereign right of each state.

"Different legal regimes, combined with insufficient exchange of administrative data between countries, create space for political disputes and manipulation," the CDT said.

They warned that without intensifying dialogue, mutual cooperation, and information exchange on this increasingly prominent problem, it will be difficult to build trust and improve good neighborly relations.

"And problems in these areas can create bilateral disputes that can affect the EU membership of countries in the region that later join," the CDT stated.

They explained that voter migration in the region has at least three interrelated dimensions.

"The first relates to electoral integrity and citizens' trust in the democratic process, and the second dimension concerns bilateral relations between states," said the CDT.

According to them, the third dimension is related to the European integration process, since the European framework for the protection of electoral integrity sets certain standards regarding the exercise of voting rights and the maintenance of voter records.

"The European legal framework particularly emphasizes the principle that a voter can exercise their right to vote only once in the same election, which implies efficient mechanisms for data exchange between countries and reliable voter records," said the CDT.

As they explained, Directive 93/109/EC established a mechanism aimed at preventing multiple voting in elections to the European Parliament, including the exchange of relevant data between member states.

"Although the Directive applies exclusively to elections to the European Parliament, it confirms the importance that the EU attaches to the accuracy of voter registers, administrative cooperation between states, and mechanisms for protecting electoral integrity," the CDT pointed out.

The NGO recalled that in previous years, initiatives were launched in the region to establish mechanisms for exchanging voter and residence data between the Western Balkan countries, with the aim of preventing multiple voting and abuse of voter lists.

"However, most of these initiatives have remained at the level of political announcements and expert recommendations, without a clear willingness to exchange data on citizens and voters," said the CDT.

They believe that the entry of the Western Balkan countries into the EU without first resolving these issues carries the risk that existing weaknesses, in conditions of free movement of people and capital, as well as different citizenship regimes among member states, will be "Europeanized".

"Potential manipulation of voter lists, residence and citizenship would not only cause undue influence on national elections in the countries of the region, but could spill over into elections for the European Parliament," the CDT warned.

According to them, if Montenegro were to soon become an EU member without resolving these issues, the question would also arise as to whether citizens of non-EU countries, such as Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, through existing ties of citizenship and residence, could directly influence the election of Montenegro's representatives in the European Parliament, or have their own representatives there.

"Therefore, it is necessary to more strongly include the issue of the integrity of the voter register and residence records in the framework of EU accession negotiations, especially in the part related to the rule of law and the functioning of democratic institutions," the CDT emphasized.

As they added, due to increasingly intense population migrations and complex citizenship regimes in the region, these issues have the potential to become a broader European challenge in the future.