The December elections in Serbia were marked by unfair conditions, procedural irregularities and frequent allegations of organizing and transporting voters to support the ruling party in local elections, the head of the observation mission of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Stefan Šenah said in a report on the elections in Serbia.
In the draft report, which will be discussed at the PSSE session on Monday in Strasbourg, it is noted with concern that numerous irregularities and shortcomings are repeated and represent deep-rooted issues that the authorities in Serbia should resolve as soon as possible.
The authorities in Serbia are called upon to make meaningful and credible changes to electoral laws to prevent organized migration of voters and to ensure that independent and supervisory institutions, especially the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media and the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption, play a proactive role in ensuring fair election conditions.
As a reporter for PSSE, Šenah states that early parliamentary elections in Serbia were characterized by unfair conditions, procedural irregularities and frequent allegations of organizing and transporting voters to support the ruling party in local elections, although they offered voters a choice between political alternatives, and freedom of expression and assembly were generally respected.
As the first of the conclusions of the international observation mission, it is stated that the extraordinary parliamentary elections, although they were technically well conducted, offering the voters a choice of political alternatives, were dominated by the determined participation of the president of the state, which, together with the systemic advantages of the ruling party, created unfair conditions.
Election day was judged to have gone smoothly, but was marked by numerous procedural flaws, including inconsistent application of safeguards during voting and vote counting, frequent cases of overcrowding, violations of voting secrecy, and numerous cases of group voting.
It was also concluded that the frequency of holding extraordinary elections in Serbia further undermined public confidence in the functioning of democratic institutions and, together with the lack of political will, left the necessary reforms incomplete.
It was assessed that basic freedoms were generally respected in the campaign, but that the campaign was undermined by harsh rhetoric, bias in the media, pressure on public sector employees and misuse of public resources.
The media covered all election contestants, but most national broadcasters lacked true analytical reporting, which reduced the possibility of voters to be informed about the election, it added.
International observers also concluded that the insufficient representation of women in the campaign indicated the need for greater commitment in order to ensure adequate participation in political life.
It was assessed that the communication and transparency of the work of the Republican Electoral Commission improved, which led to increased trust in its work, but that the monitoring bodies for the campaign and the electronic media remained largely ineffective in deterring violations of the rules during the election period.
Based on its findings, the PSSE delegation notes with concern that numerous irregularities and deficiencies are recurring and represent deep-rooted issues that the country's authorities should resolve as soon as possible.
The delegation also finds it regrettable and inappropriate that the head of the PSSE delegation and another observer from the International Election Observation Mission (IEOM) were targeted by high-ranking officials as well as pro-government media and accused of "destabilizing the country" for evaluating the election after the findings were released. IEOM.
In the report published on the PSSE website, it is also emphasized that the prevailing "culture of early elections" and the instrumentalization of election cycles make it impossible for the country's democratic institutions to function properly and to be properly realized. It is recalled that the December elections were the third parliamentary elections in Serbia in four years and that all but one of the parliamentary elections in Serbia since 2000 have been extraordinary elections, which, it is added, has an additional negative impact on the functioning of democratic institutions and independent state institutions.
Such frequent elections also hinder the effective autonomous functioning of the parliament: the premature termination of parliamentary mandates does not allow the parliament to prepare fundamental and inclusive laws. This has stuck the country in a period of semi-permanent campaigning and hampers the full implementation of laws and executive control, which are crucial in a parliamentary democracy. This undermines public trust in democratic institutions and electoral processes, thereby fostering democratic regression, the report assesses.
The report singles out the "worrying role" of the president, the financing of the election campaign and the media situation in Serbia as systemic conditions that are repeated and influence unfair election conditions.
She was concerned about the decisive role of the president, who was not a candidate, in all election processes, at all levels, although according to the constitution of Serbia as a parliamentary democracy, the president should be a neutral person who will "express the state unity of the Republic of Serbia".
The use of the name and symbolic value of the president's personality in the campaign, his huge presence in the media with complimentary or favorable coverage and unlimited support clearly provided his party with an undue advantage, observers concluded.
When it comes to campaign financing, it was assessed that substantial changes and improvements to the campaign financing framework are needed, including the introduction of clear regulations on online campaigning, limits on campaign expenses and regulation of third parties in the election campaign, in accordance with the recommendations of the Venice Commission and ODIHR .
Biased media coverage and the overall media situation in Serbia seriously hampered the ability of all political parties to convey their messages not only during the campaign, but also between elections, it was concluded.
The draft report states that the PSSE delegation (and the pre-election delegation) were informed of credible allegations of vote manipulation, including the migration of voters (especially citizens of Republika Srpska, BiH who have Serbian citizenship) and phantom voters, which caused post-election protests.
Such suspicions and alleged irregularities must be seriously considered, investigated in a transparent and inclusive manner and corrected. These allegations, which primarily concerned local elections, also clearly affected the overall trust in electoral processes, including at the parliamentary level, the report states.
The delegation therefore encourages the Serbian authorities to show a strong and genuine political will to solve the key problematic aspects of the electoral process and the proper implementation of the existing legislation.
The Serbian authorities are also expected to implement the recommendations for further improvement of the legal framework governing elections issued by the Venice Commission and ODIHR in their joint opinion from December 2022, in particular by implementing a complete revision of the Unified Voters' List, in accordance with ODIHR's long-standing recommendations and the Venice Commission.
Also, they are called to make meaningful and credible changes to electoral laws in order to prevent organized voter migration and to ensure that the country's independent and supervisory institutions, especially the Electronic Media Regulatory Authority and the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption, play a proactive role in ensuring fair election conditions.
As positive, the report notes the improvement in the work and transparency of the Republican Election Commission as the main institution responsible for the good implementation and validation of elections, which has a key role in restoring public confidence in election processes, with the recommendation to encourage the development of mandatory training for election administration and promote a meaningful campaign for voter education.
It is added that the Delegation fully supports the upcoming visit of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities to Serbia, in order to deal with electoral issues related to local elections and the electoral environment for local elections, as well as allegations of fraud and to discuss with the authorities ways to improve legislation and practice in this regard, especially ahead of the new local elections planned for 2024 in Serbia.
The delegation also encourages the Serbian authorities to organize a post-election seminar with international observers, in order to discuss issues of concern and ways to improve the legal framework and practice, in accordance with Serbia's obligations as a member state of the Council of Europe, in close cooperation with that organization, including the Venice Commission and the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO).
The PSSE is ready to work with the Serbian authorities to resolve the outstanding issues, and this work should be done within the framework of the parliamentary monitoring procedure and in close cooperation with the Venice Commission, concludes the report of the PSSE observers.
Bonus video:
