Electoral Commission Official: If Voting Conditions Remain Unchanged, No Point in Entering Elections

Zoran Alimpic (BETAPHOTO/Milan Ilic)

Zoran Alimpic, a permanent member of the Belgrade City Electoral Commission, said on March 13 that there is no point participating in the upcoming new local election unless the voting conditions are improved, since, otherwise, the ruling Serbian Progressive Party “always steals enough votes to hinder an oppositional win.”

Speaking for the Nova daily, the official stated that, so far, elections in the country have been “a farce,” but added that he believes those days have passed given that a part of Serbia’s public along with all of Europe and the rest of the world know what has been transpiring in the country and how “President Aleksandar Vucic rigs votes.”

Commenting on the government task force for implementing the election recommendations issued by the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), Alimpic said that the body – comprising solely Progressives – “is a joke.” The ODIHR’s recommendations clearly state that such working groups must include representatives of the opposition and civil sector, he explained.

According to him, the transferring of voters from the Smederevo village of Mala Krsna to the Belgrade municipality of Vozdovac, which allegedly occurred days ago, “is likely only a fraction of the [regime’s] comprehensive preparations for a new, wider scheme for stealing votes.” “Stealing is a crime,” Alimpic pointed out. “It should be prevented by state institutions, such as the police and Prosecutor’s Office.”