CRTA on Deadlines for Contesting Election Result in Belgrade

Pavle Dimitrijevic (CRTA) (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV/MO)

A representative of the election observer mission of the Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability (CRTA), Pavle Dimitrijevic, assessed on Jan. 10 that, if the maximum possible deadlines are considered, the legal means for contesting the Dec. 17 election result in Belgrade should be exhausted within the next six days.

Dimitrijevic, CRTA’s director for legal affairs, told BETA that this could also be much shorter, depending on when the complaint is lodged and how long would the Higher Court take to consider it. The City Electoral Commission (CEC) of Belgrade dismissed a complaint of the Serbia Against Violence electoral ticket on Jan. 9, because it was submitted by “unauthorized persons,” the Beoinfo portal reported.

“Since the complaint was dismissed at the session of CEC, the party submitting the complaint may, considering the reasons for dismissal, appeal to the Higher Court in Belgrade within three days,” he said. In that case, the court will have three days, “i.e. 72 hours to respond, that is make the final decision on the complaint.”

“In practice, this means that, if we look at the maximum deadlines, all the legal means for contesting the election result in the City will have finally been exhausted in not more than six days,” he stated.