Transparency International: State Bodies Need To Investigate Abuses in Elections

Transparency Serbia (BETAPHOTO/MILAN ILIC)

The Transparency International organization has said that the state bodies in Serbia need to establish, without delay, whether the ruling party abused public institutions and resources and organized vote buying to win tthe election.

A statement published by Transparency Serbia says that the Public Prosecutor's Office and Agency for Preventing Corruption need to urgently react to suspicions of irregularities "for which proof was publicized both a day before and on the day of elections, given that they have failed to do this so far."

TI president Francois Valerian called on the prosecution and Agency for Preventing Corruption to fulfill their legal obligations and adequately investigate and punish all breaches of the law. "If they fail to do this, this would additionally undermine the trust of citizens in institutions and question the fairness of the election process and legitimacy of the results," Valerian said.

Transparency Serbia program director Nemanja Nenadic said that the ruling parties in these elections had largely used public resources in their campaign.

"The Serbian president was dominant in the campaign and in numerous cases, it was not clear from his public appearances whether he was acting" in the capacity of the president or the election ticket that he led, even though the law states that this must be done in an unambiguous way, Nenadic said, adding that he was the most concerned about the Agency for Preventing Corruption's failure to react adequately, "despite very clear proof."