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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Serbia continues with implementation of ODIHR recommendations

Belgrade, 28 February 2024

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic stated today that, when one looks at the recommendations from the report of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), it is clear that the elections in Serbia were fair, honest, transparent and in accordance with democratic norms.

Brnabic, who addressed the public regarding this report, which analyses the conditions of the elections held on 17 December 2023, pointed out that the report of that organisation is incomparably more objective than the reports of some other international institutions, which used all this to lead a political campaign against Serbia and that our country is committed to cooperation with ODIHR.

She announced that ODIHR assessed in its report that basic freedoms were generally respected during the campaign, that the election administration effectively conducted election preparations, and that the work of the Election Commission was most positively assessed, which, according to ODIHR, generally enjoyed trust.

Overall, as stated, the Election Commission effectively conducted the election preparations, and the local election commissions mostly effectively managed the technical preparations.

Brnabic stated that, according to the ODIHR report, the legal framework as a whole provides an adequate basis for conducting democratic elections.

Most interlocutors of the ODIHR observation mission did not express concerns about the inclusiveness of voter lists or voters' access to personal documents. The candidates did not report to this mission any difficulties in accessing the certifying authorities when they were verifying signatures for their lists, which was a criticism from the previous report, she specified.

The Prime Minister added that according to the ODIHR, freedom of expression and assembly was generally respected during the campaign, and that the elections offered voters a choice between authentic political options, as well as that the amendments to the law from 2022 improved the regulation of campaign financing.

Brnabic particularly pointed out that the ODIHR in its report praised the new Law on Electronic Media and the Law on Public Information and Media, and that the report states that, after broad consultation with relevant stakeholders, those two legal solutions were adopted and positive ones are recognized aspects of those changes.

Also, as she noted, the report said that all national broadcasters covered campaign activities in accordance with the law, ensuring equal air time for all candidates.

The Prime Minister confirmed that there are seven priority recommendations in this ODIHR report, and that none of them indicate that there is a need for an international investigation, and that there is no recommendation that the lists should not bear the name of a person who is not a candidate.

She emphasised that the recommendations do not mention electoral fraud anywhere, and that this report puts an end to the nonsense that has been published in recent months.

Brnabic, speaking about the relocation of voters, pointed out that the ODIHR report stated that such problem existed, but in such a way that "during the day claims were spread about a potentially large number of voters living abroad who were organised and brought by buses to the capital to vote for the ruling party".

She repeated that there is not a single indication that these claims are true and correct.

In the ODIHR report, it is said that “these accusations undermined public trust and the integrity of local elections and also affected the acceptance of the parliamentary results”, the Prime Minister said and added that she only somewhat agreed with this, because that was the logic of all that nonsense and lies – to undermine public trust.