OSCE: High turnout in Serbia’s elections is a positive sign

ODIHR is closely monitoring the electoral process in Serbia. Gilles Baum, the OSCE Special Coordinator for the short-term observation mission, described the high turnout as a positive indicator for the country. Meanwhile, Federica Honori, who heads the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly mission, noted that some ODIHR recommendations have not been implemented.

At a press conference, Baum said the early parliamentary elections were particularly important for Serbia. He added that the strong interest and high number of voters showed that citizens wanted to influence the future of their country and their democracy, calling this a good sign for Serbia.

Honori, an Italian member of parliament, said that around 70 members of the mission were observing the vote across the country. She said the mission would have all the details today and would present its findings tomorrow at 15:00 at a press conference at the Metropol.

She said that ODIHR recommendations had been implemented only in part. These mainly concern the safety of journalists and the use of public funds for campaign expenses and political purposes.

Bom added that the ODIHR mission had met with two major political forces: the Student List and the United Serbia list. Both, he said, had stated that they would accept the results once they were announced.

Early parliamentary elections are being held in Serbia today. Polling stations are open from 7:00 to 20:00.

A total of 6,451,292 citizens are eligible to vote. Voting is taking place at 8,392 polling stations, including 29 in prisons and 93 outside Serbia, located in 37 countries. There are 102,147 voters abroad.

A total of 2,418 candidates, registered on 18 electoral lists, are competing for 250 seats in the Serbian Parliament. Half of the lists have minority-list status. The electoral threshold for entering parliament is three percent, while the natural threshold applies to lists representing national minorities.

According to data from the GIK, voting at polling station No. 3 in Kraljevo was interrupted after a page listing the names of registered voters was found to be missing from the voter register. Voting resumed after the complete register arrived.