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2009 Assessment

Serbia: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Serbia : Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Election Integrity
Indicators		Score
17	In law, is there an election monitoring agency or set of election monitoring agencies/entities?	100
18	Is the election monitoring agency effective?	55
19	Are elections systems transparent and effective?	96

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

In law, is there an election monitoring agency or set of election monitoring agencies/entities?

17: In law, is there an election monitoring agency or set of election monitoring agencies/entities?

Score:

YES

Comments: Republic Electoral Commission (REC) [ LINK ]

Supervisory Board (SB)

References: Law on the Elections of Members of Parliament ("Official Gazette" n°35/2000 and n°18/2004), Articles 33 to 35 (for Republic Electoral Commission, REC), and Articles 99 and 100 (for Supervisory Board, SB).

Is the election monitoring agency effective?

18a: In law, the agency or set of agencies/entities is protected from political interference.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Law on the Elections of Members of Parliament (Official Gazette n°35/2000 and n°18/2004), Article 28.

18b: In practice, agency (or set of agencies/entities) appointments are made that support the independence of the agency.

Score:

100

Comments: The permanent composition of the Republic Electoral Commission (REC) comprises a president, 16 members and their deputies all appointed by the National Assembly on the proposal of parliamentary groups. The expanded composition includes one representative of each submitter of a registered electoral list.

The Supervisory Board (SB) is in charge of general supervision over the acts of political parties, candidates and media outlets during the electoral campaign. The SB has 10 members, which are all appointed by the National Assembly. Five are appointed on the proposal of the Serbian government, and the other five are appointed on the proposal of the parliamentary groups of the National Assembly.

References: OSCE, Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights Elections, Election observation mission. [ LINK ] [accessed on Sept. 7, 2009]

18c: In practice, the agency or set of agencies/entities has a professional, full-time staff.

Score:

100

Comments: Staff of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia Administrative Service provides all the necessary professional and technical assistance to the Republic Electoral Commission. It should be doing the same for the Supervisory Board.

References: Rules of Procedure of the Republic Electoral Commission, Article 25. [ LINK ]

Ljiljana Petrovic, Director of the Citizen Action Center "Integras", Pozarevac, Serbia (Sept. 10, 2009).

18d: In practice, the agency or set of agencies/entities makes timely, publicly available reports following an election cycle.

Score:

100

Comments: Reports are available on the REC Web site: [ LINK ] (Serbian) [ LINK ] (English)

References: Ljiljana Petrovic, Director of the Citizen Action Center Integras, Pozarevac, Serbia (Sept. 10, 2009, Pozarevac).

18e: In practice, when necessary, the agency or set of agencies/entities imposes penalties on offenders.

Score:

100

Comments: The Supervisory Board had not been established for the May 11 elections. OSCE/ODIHR election-observation reports provide information about the work of election commissions and the resolution of election-related disputes.

References: OSCE/ODIHR Limited Elections Observation Mission, Interim Report 1 (3-15 April 2008) Republic of Serbia, Parliamentary Elections, May, 11 2008. [ LINK ]

Mirjana Simic & Nemanja Cocic, "CeSID-ov monitoring parlamentarnih izbora" [CeSID's Monitoring of Parliamentary Elections] in "Oko izbora: Parlamentarni izbori u Republici Srbiji, 11 maj 2008 godine" [Parliamentary Election in Republic of Serbia, May 11, 2008], CeSID, 2008. [ LINK ]

Are elections systems transparent and effective?

19a: In practice, there is a clear and transparent system of voter registration.

Score:

100

Comments: The OSCE/ODIHR Limited Elections Observation Mission has received no complaints about voter registration.

References: OSCE/ODIHR Limited Elections Observation Mission, Interim Report 1 (3-15 April 2008) Republic of Serbia, Parliamentary Elections, May 11, 2008. [ LINK ]

19b: In law, election results can be contested through the judicial system.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Law on the Elections of Members of Parliament (Official Gazette n°35/2000 and n°18/2004), Article 97.

19c: In practice, election results can be effectively appealed through the judicial system.

Score:

100

Comments: The OSCE/ODIHR Limited Election Observation Mission notes that judicial hearings of election-related complaints continue to be conducted in a nontransparent manner. The Supreme Court continues to review complaints via camera, where the complainant is not present.

References: International Election Observation Mission, Republic of Serbia-Early Parliamentary Elections, May 11, 2008: Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions. [ LINK ]

19d: In practice, the military and security forces remain neutral during elections.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Ljiljana Petrovic, Director of the Citizen Action Center Integras, Pozarevac, Serbia (Sept. 10, 2009, Pozarevac).

19e: In law, domestic and international election observers are allowed to monitor elections.

Score:

YES

Comments: The Law on the Elections of Members of Parliament still lacks provisions on accreditation of domestic and international observers.

References: Law on the Elections of Members of Parliament (Official Gazette n°35/2000 and n°18/2004).

19f: In practice, election observers are able to effectively monitor elections.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: Election observers have unfettered access to polling sites, counting stations, and voters themselves. The government does not interfere with the observers\' activities. <p>50 Score Criteria: Election observers generally have access to polling sites, counting stations, and voters but encounter restrictions in certain areas. The government may impose burdensome regulatory or bureaucratic requirements on observers to discourage their involvement. <p>0 Score Criteria: Election observers\' movements are significantly limited by the government and many polling and counting sites are restricted or barred from observers. The government imposes so many bureaucratic or regulatory burdens on the observers that their mission is rendered ineffective.$

Comments: The International Election Observation Mission, as a joint undertaking of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR), has reported no incidences of hindrance of its monitoring activities related to the May 11, 2008 early parliamentary elections in Serbia.

Domestic observers, such as CeSID, were also able to monitor these elections without any important obstacles.

References: International Election Observation Mission, Republic of Serbia-Early Parliamentary Elections, May 11, 2008: Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions. [ LINK ]

Mirjana Simic & Nemanja Cocic, CeSID-ov monitoring parlamentarnih izbora [CeSID's Monitoring of Parliamentary Elections] in Oko izbora: Parlamentarni izbori u Republici Srbiji, 11 maj 2008 godine [Parliamentary Election in Republic of Serbia, May 11, 2008], CeSID, 2008. [ LINK ]