Early Parliamentary Elections, 17 December 2023
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Mission at a glance
Head of Mission: Ambassador Albert Jónsson
Core team of 11 experts from 9 participating States, based in Belgrade.
30 long-term observers deployed throughout the country
Mission schedule
15 November: Arrival of the core team
19 November: Arrival of long-term observers
20 November: Briefing of long-term observers
21 November: Deployment of long-term observers throughout the country
13 December: Arrival of short-term observers
14 December: Briefing of short-term observers
15 December: Deployment of short-term observers throughout the country
17 December: Election day
18 December: Press conference on preliminary findings and conclusions
20 December: Departure of short-term observers
23 December: Departure of long-term observers
27 December: Departure of the core team
Following an invitation from the authorities of Serbia, based on the findings and conclusions of the Needs Assessment Mission that took place from 16 to 20 October 2023 and in accordance with its mandate, ODIHR has deployed an Election Observation Mission (EOM) to the 17 December 2023 early parliamentary elections.
Long-term Observation
The ODIHR EOM, headed by Ambassador Albert Jónsson, consists of 11 international experts based in Belgrade. In addition, 30 long-term observers will be deployed throughout the country from 21 November.
The mission will assess whether the elections are held in line with OSCE commitments and other international obligations and standards for democratic elections, as well as with national legislation.
Observers will closely follow fundamental components of the elections such as:
- voter registration
- candidate registration
- campaign activities and financing
- the work of the election administration and relevant government bodies
- election-related legislation and its implementation
- the resolution of election-related disputes
The ODIHR EOM will also conduct qualitative and quantitative monitoring of media coverage of the election campaign. The ODIHR EOM will also conduct a limited qualitative and quantitative observation of election campaigns on social networks.
Election Day
ODIHR will request the secondment of 250 short-term observers from OSCE participating States to follow the election day proceedings. The short-term observers will be deployed throughout the country in multinational teams of two which will monitor:
- the opening of polling stations
- the voting
- the counting of ballots
- the tabulation of results at all levels.
Co-operation with other partners
The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament intend to deploy observer delegations for these elections.
The day after the elections, ODIHR, together with its parliamentary partners, will issue a statement of preliminary findings and conclusions at a press conference. A final report on the observation of the entire electoral process will be issued some months after the end of the election process.
Previous Elections
ODIHR has previously observed 16 elections in Serbia, most recently the 2022 presidential and early parliamentary elections.