Int’l Observers: Election Marked by High Turnout, Political Polarization and Irregularities

Parliamentary Elections(BETAPHOTO/MILAN ILIC)

The heads of five international observer missions said on Oct. 26 that the Oct. 25 early parliamentary elections in Serbia were marked by high turnout, intense political polarization and irregularities.

At a presentation of preliminary conclusions on the elections, Eoghan Murphy, head of the observer mission of the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, said the secrecy of the ballot was violated at 15 percent of polling places, that ballots were photographed at four percent of polling places, while family or group voting was recorded at seven percent of polling places.

He also pointed out tensions at polling places and outside them, intimidation of and pressure on voters, and lack of trust in the accuracy and integrity of the voting roll.

Andreas Schieder, head of the European Parliament observer delegation at the Serbian parliamentary election, praised the historic turnout and added that Serbia must address the reports of concerning events, irregularities, the misuse of funds in the election process, and controversial decisions about Serbian citizens voting abroad, including the limited number of polling places and "odd" voting hours.

Gilles Baum, OSCE special coordinator and mission head, said that fair competition during the election process was seriously jeopardized, that the ruling party had an advantage due to misuse of state resources, intimidation of and pressure on voters, candidates and civil society, and that disruption of election activity cast an additional shadow on the election environment.

Federica Onori, head of the observer delegation of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, said that political polarization and general mistrust of institutions had affected authentic political dialogue, and occasionally the functioning of institutions and the public's trust in the election process itself. She listed as reasons for concern observed instances of illegal digital surveillance, the quality of campaign funding oversight, the state of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media and the safety of journalists.

Piero Fassino, head of the observer mission of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, welcomed the mass turnout, saying it sends a "powerful message" that the Serbian people want to have an active role in shaping democracy, based on the rule of law and respect for human rights.