Serbia's Government said on Monday it adopted a set of election laws, including the Bill on the Election of the President of the Republic, the Bill on the Election of Deputies and the Bill on Local Elections.

The Government added that the draft laws did not change the essential aspects of the election for deputies, the President and councillors in local self-government units and that the current legal solutions remained.

„The proposed solutions were suggested in line with inter-party dialogues on election conditions with and without the European Parliament (EP) mediation, and with the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (ODIHR) recommendations on monitoring the election procedures in Serbia,“ the Government said.

It also adopted the Bill on Financing Political Activities, which provided transparent monitoring of costs during and after the election process.

„The novelty is that political entities can borrow only from banks and other financial organisations, thus preventing the possibility of borrowing from individuals and legal entities, which in return could have an impact on political entities,“ the statement said.

It added that „the maximum amount of loans that all political entities can borrow from banks and other financial organisations, on an annual basis, to finance regular work or the election campaign, has been set. Political entities are obliged to submit preliminary reports on the expenses of the Anti-Corruption Agency during the election campaign, as well as the final report on the expenses of the election campaign.“