After the resolution on the elections in Serbia was voted, the European deputies stated that the citizens of Serbia deserve fair and honest elections and that they witnessed election theft.
They also pointed out that the threat of possible freezing and suspension of European funds is not directed against the citizens of Serbia, but against the authorities.
In the resolution, they call for the suspension of Serbia's funding from the EU if the Serbian authorities are not ready to implement key election recommendations or if the findings of the investigation indicate that the Serbian authorities were directly involved in election theft.
Recommendations from Priebe's report
At today's panel in to the European Parliament "Serbia: Democracy at the Crossroads" on the eve of the adoption of the resolution on the elections in Serbia, MEPs together with the representatives of the Serbia Against Violence list sent harsh criticism at the expense of the regime of Aleksandar Vučić.
It was said that the government in Serbia abused the elections and the entire state apparatus, stressing the need for an urgent and quick international investigation of the electoral process.
SSP Vice President Marinika Tepić told N1 after the adoption of the EP Resolution that what they received firm convictions for, which was, as she says, their goal when they were proving election theft, is that an international independent mission is necessary, necessary and urgent would be sent to investigate it.
Another thing, she added, that is less talked about are the recommendations from Priebe's report, which Klemen Grošelj insisted on.
"There are concrete steps on how to work, to manage those systems that are most sensitive before the elections themselves, the security department, state administration, recommendations that were first implemented in North Macedonia after their very similar political crisis," she says.
None of the deal
MEP Viola von Kramon said on the panel that "everything that the government accepted was not implemented in the end."
"After the massive theft in the last elections, it was completely clear that we have to make an effort to ensure that the rule of law, the rule of law, is not completely abandoned. That's why we made a long list of suggestions. Today, everything is in our hands, not only ours, but also in the hands of people who care about the principles of the rule of law," she says.
The authorities are invited to essential cooperation
The government is also called upon to fully and substantially cooperate with the OSCE, the European Union and the Council of Europe.
"We note with concern that Serbia has not implemented many long-standing recommendations of the OSCE regarding the main issues of the electoral process, despite the fact that it has been called to do so several times, including by the European Commission," the resolution states.
Numerous problems of the election process are also noted, such as the absence of media pluralism in the campaign and the passive role of the Regulatory Body for Electronic Media, as well as the dominant role of the President of the Republic, who was not a candidate.
"The overall campaign was characterized by stronger polarization than before, aggressive rhetoric, discrediting on a personal level, verbal violence and inflammatory language; cases of pressure on public sector employees, misuse of public resources and voter inducement schemes have raised concerns about voters' ability to make a free choice; these practices created unequal conditions and blurred the border between the state and the party, contrary to international standards," the text of the resolution reads.
Phantom voters
Special attention is paid to the phenomenon of so-called phantom voters from municipalities where local elections were not held, as well as from other countries, primarily Bosnia and Herzegovina, who were allegedly brought to vote in Belgrade in an organized manner.
"After deep analysis, a very conservative estimate by Crta, based only on limited data and resources, is that the inaccuracy of the voter list contributes to a difference of at least 30.000 voters," the text reads.
The resolution also addresses the government's response to post-election criticism.
"The European Parliament condemns the orchestrated attacks by Serbian officials on election observers, including members of the European Parliament, and calls for a return to respectful and constructive discourses, emphasizing the importance of mutual respect in the democratic process... it strongly condemns the non-substantiation of the Serbian authorities' claim that EU member states were involved in organizing post-election protest; regrets that the protests were used as an occasion to spread anti-EU narratives in the media close to the ruling party," the resolution states.
