OSCE opens observer mission for June 2 elections in Serbia

A press release said that the mission was set up after being officially invited by the Serbian authorities and added that it is headed by Ambassador Lamberto Zannier with a core team of 11 international experts based in Belgrade and 18 long-term observers, who will be deployed throughout the country from 8 May. “ODIHR will request 160 short-term observers, to arrive several days before election day,” it said.

“The mission will assess the conduct of the elections for its compliance with OSCE commitments and other international obligations and standards for democratic elections, as well as with national legislation. Observers will closely monitor all aspects of the elections, including pre- and post-election developments. Specific areas of focus include the implementation of the legal framework, the conduct of the campaign, including on social networks, as well as the work of the election administration at all levels, election dispute resolution and media coverage. They will also assess the implementation of previous ODIHR election recommendations,” the press release said.

It said that the observers will meet with state officials, political parties, civil society, the media and representatives of the international community “as an integral part of the observation”.

“On election day, the ODIHR mission will join efforts with the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe to observe the opening of polling stations, voting, the counting of ballots and the tabulation of results. The day after the elections, the mission’s preliminary findings and conclusions will be presented at a press conference. A final report with an assessment of the entire election process and containing recommendations, will be published some months after the process,” the OSCE press release said.