Serbia early parliamentary elections 2023: ODIHR election observation mission final report

Although technically well-administered and offering voters a choice of political alternatives, Serbia’s 2023 early parliamentary elections were dominated by the decisive involvement of the President, which, together with the ruling party’s systemic advantages, created unjust conditions for contestants. Fundamental freedoms were generally respected in the campaign, but it was marred by harsh rhetoric, bias in the media, pressure on public sector employees and misuse of public resources.

These are some of the main conclusions from the final report on the 17 December elections published today by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). The report offers 25 recommendations to support efforts to bring elections further in line with OSCE commitments, as well as other international obligations and standards for democratic elections.

Key recommendations include:

• Reviewing the legislation to effectively address prior recommendations through an inclusive consultative process built upon a broad political consensus;
• Introducing standardized mandatory training for all local electoral commission and polling board members, including the extended compositions of these bodies;
• Developing and implementing a timely, comprehensive and targeted voter education programme, including on voters’ rights, the prevention of group voting and the importance of voting by secret ballot;
• Conducting a meaningful audit of the voter and civil registers with the participation of relevant stakeholders;
• Taking measures to prevent misuse of office and state resources and proactively addressing violations;
• Implementing effective legal and institutional oversight mechanisms to prevent intimidation and pressure on voters, including employees of public and state institutions;
• Effectively guaranteeing the independence of the Electronic Media Regulatory Authority and proactively addressing media violations identified through its systematic media monitoring.

The ODIHR Election Observation Mission for the early parliamentary elections commenced its work on 15 November and remained in the country until 27 December 2023.

All 57 participating States across the OSCE region have formally committed to following up promptly on ODIHR’s election assessments and recommendations.