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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Brnabic speaks with representatives of OSCE, EU

Belgrade, 9 March 2024

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic initiated a meeting yesterday with the Mission of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), representatives of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the European Union delegation in Serbia, led by ambassadors Jan Bratu and Emanuele Giaufret, in order to present together with Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government Aleksandar Martinovic and Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Protection of Personal Data Milan Marinovic, what has been done since 2012 until today at updating the voter list in the Republic of Serbia and creating a single voter list that is as transparent as possible.

Brnabic informed the international partners that the government of Serbia has already sent an invitation letter to the observation mission that would monitor the local elections in Belgrade, as well as that yesterday a request was sent to the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) to send a technical expert and a professional who will help with the further improvement of the single voter list and a clearer insight into it, for the sake of raising the public's trust as much as possible, all in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Serbia.

The Prime Minister was pleased to inform the officials that the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government has taken measures to implement recommendation 13, which concerns the full provision of the right of all electoral actors to access and use public premises for campaigning under equal conditions.

Regarding that recommendation from the ODIHR Report, it was fully fulfilled by the decision of the Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government establishing a mechanism for controlling the availability of facilities in the public property of local self-government units during the election campaign to all participants in the election process, which was announced yesterday in the “Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”.

By the aforementioned decision, employees of the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government are authorised to receive complaints in case of possible irregularities, to act on them, and to resolve the situation in direct contact with the management of the municipality or city.

Also, recommendation 23 was implemented, which refers to the provision of adequate space for polling stations to prevent overcrowding, ensure the secrecy of voting and enable easy independent access for voters with physical disabilities.

The Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government instructed all local election commissions to, in order to facilitate better conditions at polling stations on election day, consider and carry out an adequate division of polling stations where more than 1,800 voters vote, in terms of educating two or more voters places.

EU Ambassador Emanuele Giaufret underlined the importance that the EU attaches to the rapid implementation of ODIHR's recommendations for strengthening the electoral framework. He expressed his gratitude to the Prime Minister for quickly reconvening the interdepartmental forum, in order to respond to the recommendations and request technical assistance from the ODIHR. He stressed the need for a meaningful and inclusive process, which will involve all relevant actors, in order to increase public trust.

The Prime Minister expressed her gratitude to the representatives of the OSCE and the EU for their institutional cooperation, support, openness to listen and propose some additional activities that they believe will help the electoral process in our country and contribute to even greater improvement and control of the voter list, and for the sake of successful election process in the future.