CRTA report on elections: They were neither free nor fair

The main characteristic of these elections compared to the previous ones is that some institutions actively participated in “creating the atmosphere or breaking the law so as to ensure an advantage for one actor.”

Nedeljkov said that responsibility primarily lies with the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and local self-governments.

“Many of the things that we faced in December 2023 were not novelties, neither for the political parties nor for the election administration, or for the police, but they were again ignored, and to this day we have no confirmation that any legal proceedings have been initiated,” said the CRTA program director when presenting the Report.

The 3,000 CRTA observers in the December election documented irregularities at 13 percent of polling stations in the parliamentary elections, while in the Belgrade elections, the share of such polling stations amounts to as much as 21 percent. Nedeljkov described the irregularities as serious.

“The conclusion of the observation mission is that, in light of these findings and in the present state of things in a society that is seriously divided and facing a political crisis, it is not possible to embark on the improvement of the legal framework and practice until certain prerequisites are met,” said Nedeljkov.

CRTA listed three prerequisites for improving the electoral process:

– accountability, that is, initiating criminal and disciplinary proceedings to determine responsibility and punish the commissioners and violators of the integrity of the elections.

“We see no point in making improvements to laws that will not be implemented without an explicit message that lawlessness will not be tolerated,” said Nedeljkov.

– determining all actions that resulted in a compromised voter roll, and establishing an accurate voter roll that all election participants, including the citizens, will have confidence in.

– Advancing the program standards in the operation of the Serbian state TV and Radio-Television of Vojvodina.

The summary of the CRTA Final Election Observation Report is available here.