The Office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) said that for the extraordinary parliamentary elections in Serbia, planned for December 17, a mission in full capacity is needed, i.e. a team of 30 long-term observers and 250 on election day. , it is stated in the report after the visit to Belgrade.
"The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has several formats in which it observes elections: a team of experts, an Election Assessment Mission (EAM), a Limited Election Observation Mission (LEOM) and an Election Observation Mission (EOM). The latter, EOM, is the highest and most intensive level of election observation, in full capacity, and it was recommended in the case of Serbia," Aleksandar Ivković, a researcher at the Center for Contemporary Politics, explains to the "Vremena" portal.
As he says, according to election observation manual an election observation mission (EOM) is dispatched when it is judged that there is limited confidence in the election administration and the election day itself.
"The OSCE, after the preparatory visit to Serbia, recommended that this mission be sent for the elections in December, which in itself is a clear message - the majority of participants do not trust the election process. For example, LEOM - limited mission - is sent when there are problems during the campaign, but not a great deal of distrust in the election day itself and the counting of votes. That is no longer the case in Serbia," emphasizes Ivković.
He also reminds that the sending of the highest level mission (EOM) is determined for the 2020 and 2022 elections.
"Prior to that, a limited LEOM observation mission was sent for years. This shows that trust in the electoral process, although never completely, gradually collapsed over the years, concludes Ivković.
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Pending an official invitation from the Serbian authorities for an observation mission, the ODIHR published a report stating that an impartial assessment is of utmost importance given the high political and social polarization, in order to strengthen public confidence in the electoral process and potentially eliminate bad practices on its own election day.
The ODIHR mission, which was in Belgrade from October 16 to 20, announced that the interlocutors indicated that the observation mission should monitor the campaign, media coverage, campaign financing, election day procedures and resolving misunderstandings, as well as allegations on voter intimidation and abuse of state resources. Based on the findings of this report, the ODIHR Mission recommended the deployment of an Election Observation Mission (EOM) to observe the upcoming snap parliamentary elections, subject to the availability of resources.
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