NGO: Polling Station Irregularities Cannot Be Fixed by New Booths

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

Attorney Pavle Dimitrijevic of the non-governmental Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability (CRTA) said on Aug. 20 that voting irregularities at Serbia’s polling stations cannot be resolved by bigger privacy screens but through the better operation of voting committees and increased voter conscientiousness.

Speaking for the latest edition of the Danas daily, Dimitrijevic claimed there is deep distrust in the integrity of the electoral process and that the issue runs far deeper than the physical set-up of polling stations.

“If the practice of impunity exists and protects the widespread network of clientelism and pressuring, there isn’t a privacy screen in the world that can solve this and remedy the crumbled foundations of electoral integrity,” the attorney opined.

Meanwhile, State Electoral Commission president Vladimir Dimitrijevic proposed on Aug. 19 that voting on the procurement of the new, full-coverage voting booths be suspended to allow further discussions on the matter by the Commission’s working groups.

President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic has said that the new privacy screens were being acquired on recommendation of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), adding that said purchase will cost between seven and eight million euros.