ENEMO: Participation of Public Officials in Campaign, Pressure on Voters Reason for Concern

Presentation of the ENEMO interim report on the occasion of the upcoming presidential and early parliamentary elections in Serbia in 2022.(BETAPHOTO/MEDIJA CENTAR BEOGRAD)

European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations (ENEMO) mission chief in Serbia Pierre Peytier has said that the participation of public officials in the election campaign in Serbia and reports of pressure on voters and the abuse of state resources, are a reason for concern.

Presenting a mission report for March 1-21 on presidential and parliamentary elections, Peytier said that the elections were unfolding in a highly-polarized social-political context which, he stressed, was strongly reflected in the media sphere.

He also said that so far the campaign had been relatively peaceful and that its visibility was partly affected by the short time frame for the campaign, while the attention of the media was very directed at the war in Ukraine. "Considerable concern should be expressed with regard to allegations of pressure on public officials and the intimidation of voters, the participation of state officials in the campaign and the abuse of office as well as reports of state resources being misused," he said.