Protest organised by opposition in front of Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) following the elections
Photo: FoNet
Serbian media have published a letter of the “Serbia Against Violence” coalition to the European Union, requesting international investigation into the electoral irregularities and a verification committee which will monitor and verify the implementation of the recommendations.
The investigation should be completed by 15 February and the implementation of recommendations three months before the next election.
The letter is addressed to the institutions of the European Union and signed by the presidents of the member parties of the coalition. In it, the representatives of the “Serbia Against Violence” say they will not accept the results of the elections held on 17 December, due to numerous irregularities.
In the letter, the leaders request from the EU not to recognise the results of the election until a full international investigation into the electoral irregularities on all levels is completed.
Another request in an initiation of full international investigation under the auspices of the OSCE, the Council of Europe, and the European Commission, on the electoral irregularities, with special emphasis on the election for the Assembly of the City of Belgrade.
Finally, representatives of requested the establishment of an international verification committee under the auspices of the European Parliament, which would monitor and verify the implementation of each and every recommendation of the international investigation, as well as the OSCE/ODIHR and domestic observation missions.
The committee, according to the letter, should consist of participants of all four main EP political groups (EPP, S&D, RE and Green/EFA) and four leading electoral lists in Serbia (SNS, SPN, SPS and NADA), on a parity basis, 4+4 members, with independent chairperson.
The committee should verify the implementation of all recommendations three months prior to the date of the elections. Fresh elections for the Belgrade City Assembly must coincide with the upcoming regular local elections, the letter states.
Key irregularities mentioned
The letter mentions several key irregularities that took place during the elections.
Among them are, as the letter states, “unambiguous evidence of vote buying, which includes audio recordings, released by the Center for Investigative Journalism of Serbia (CINS)”, “findings of the representatives of the Serbia Against Violence in the Belgrade Electoral Commission (GIK) indicating that as many as half of the lists submitted for the Belgrade local election had falsified signatures of support” and “passive behavior and complete inactivity of the Regulatory Body for Electronic Media (REM) with huge disbalance in media coverage of government and opposition”.
Other examples include “overwhelming media presence of the President, who was not the candidate in the elections, and as OSCE/ODIHR mission noted, ‘strong influence of the government on most outlets’” and “pressuring voters such as state-owned corporation workers and social assistance recipients to support the ruling party, so that their contracts are renewed/do not get demoted or their social assistance is continued”.
The letter also mentions “serious allegations of voter migration (registering voters in places where they otherwise do not live), including residents of neighbouring countries, for election for the Assembly of the City of Belgrade, which the responsible state institutions have refused to properly address and investigate”.
