Mission of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) recommended sending a mission in full capacity to observe the upcoming of choice in Serbia, due to the expectation that they will be held in a highly polarized political and social environment.
In the Report of the ODIHR Needs Assessment Mission, whose members were in Belgrade from July 6 to 10 to assess the pre-election environment, it is stated that the Serbian authorities adopted several legal changes in accordance with the organization's earlier recommendations, but that certain problems in practice, primarily when it comes to the media, equal conditions in the campaign and political polarization, require the sending of a full observation mission to monitor the elections.
After meetings in Belgrade with representatives of state bodies, election administration, ruling and opposition parliamentary parties, media and non-governmental organizations, members of the Needs Assessment Mission recommended sending a team of experts, 32 long-term observers who will monitor the electoral process throughout the country and 300 short-term observers who will be engaged on election day.
The Election Observation Mission in Serbia will assess the environment and campaign activities in traditional and online media and social media platforms, as well as institutional readiness and effectiveness in identifying and responding to disinformation, false information, and potential foreign and domestic interference, the Report states.
The document expresses the expectation that the upcoming elections in Serbia will be held in a highly polarized political and social environment, characterized by a pronounced lack of trust among key political actors and between the opposition and the election administration.
Photo: TimeBillboard in the previous campaign in the center of Smederevska Palanka
The political situation in the country was significantly affected by mass protests
It is said that the political situation in the country was significantly affected by mass protests by students and other citizens, initiated after the deadly fall of the canopy at the Novi Sad railway station on November 1, 2024, which further increased tensions in society and shaped the pre-election atmosphere.
Interlocutors of the Needs Assessment Mission members identified a number of aspects that the future ODIHR mission should assess, including the implementation of the recently amended legislative framework, the work of the electoral administration, the electoral roll and its ongoing revision, candidate registration, campaign management, campaign financing, media coverage and election day regulation and procedures, it said.
They cited allegations of vote-buying, potential abuse of state resources, and voter intimidation and excessive pressure as issues deserving further attention, the Report added.
The document indicates that the functionality of the Council of the Regulatory Body for Electronic Media (REM) has been restored, but also states that there is still a pronounced bias in favor of the government on televisions with a national frequency and that access to opposition actors is significantly limited.
It is also stated that the previous restriction according to which a voter could support only one electoral list by signature has been abolished, but concerns are expressed that the new solution, which allows citizens to support multiple electoral lists by signature, may lead to abuses and the emergence of so-called "phantom lists".
Photo: Ognjen Stevanović/FoNetA new student action has begun.
6.439.075 registered voters
The Report also states that the Unified Voter's List currently contains 6.439.075 registered voters. In accordance with the long-standing recommendation of the ODIHR, in 2025, measures were introduced to improve the transparency of voter registration and an independent Voter List Review Commission was established to periodically review its accuracy, it added.
Although the authorities state that the Electoral Roll Review Commission is operational and expect the review to be completed within the legal deadline, many interlocutors of the ODIHR Mission questioned the possibility of the review producing significant results before the elections, it said.
In the document, among other things, it is written that many interlocutors of the members of the Needs Assessment Mission indicated that an independent and impartial assessment of ODIHR would have a special value in a highly polarized political and social environment, and that several of them assessed that a strong presence of international observers could contribute to increasing public confidence in the electoral process, reducing tensions, and preventing potential irregularities and violence related to the elections.
Source: Beta
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