ODIHR Mission about on Elections: Ruling Party Dominates, Opposition Fragmentized

Elections in Serbia (BETAPHOTO/Milan Obradovic)

An observation mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) said on May 18 that local elections in Serbia would be held on June 2 in the context of the continued domination of the ruling party and the Serbian president, a fragmentized opposition, deeply-rooted polarization and frequent early elections.

“Some opposition parties are boycotting these elections, and some have decided to run, or have made their participation conditional on implementing certain demands before the elections,” the ODIHR Mission said in its first report covering the period between April 30 and May 14. Commenting on a move by the Parliament of Serbia to establish a working group responsible for the implementation of the ODIHR’s recommendations, the Mission cautioned that by May 14, except for amendments to the Law on a Single Electoral Register, “No other changes applicable to these elections were adopted.”

The mission also said that several people whom the mission talked to expressed their concern over how accurate the single electoral register was, pointing to “alleged abuses of the electoral register in the past.” The mission concluded that the Law “has been amended to respond to alleged organized voter migrations” last December.

The observation mission also noted that traditional methods of live campaigning were limited, while candidates and the political actors boycotting the elections “have been very active on social networks.” “A long-term concern remains over vote buying and pressures on civil servants,” the mission added in the report.