The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today opened an election observation mission ahead of the 25 October early parliamentary elections, following an invitation from the national authorities and based on the findings of a pre-election needs assessment mission .
The mission is headed by Eoghan Murphy and consists of a core team of 14 international experts based in Belgrade. Thirty long-term observers will be deployed throughout the country from 25 September, and ODIHR also plans to request 300 short-term observers, who will arrive several days before election day. The core team experts and long-term observers come from 24 different OSCE countries.
"Elections are a process, not a single day, and our observation begins well before voters go to the polls," Eoghan Murphy said. "Our presence throughout Serbia over several weeks allows us to engage with a broad range of actors in these elections, follow developments as they unfold, and understand their significance for the electoral process as a whole."
The mission will closely monitor all key aspects of the elections, such as the campaign, including on social networks; campaign finance; the work of the election administration at the national, regional and local levels; election-related laws and regulations; institutional arrangements put in place by the authorities to detect disinformation; media coverage; and election dispute resolution. Observers will also assess the implementation of previous ODIHR election recommendations. Members of the observation mission will also meet representatives of national authorities, political parties, civil society, the media, and the international community.
"Throughout our mission, we will listen carefully to the different perspectives of all interested stakeholders, while drawing our own conclusions based on what we observe," Murphy said. "Our assessment will be independent and impartial, and grounded in ODIHR's established methodology and the commitments and standards that apply across the OSCE region."
For election day itself, delegations from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the European Parliament (EP) will join efforts with the ODIHR mission.
An interim report will be published by ODIHR some two weeks prior to the elections to update the public and the media on the observation mission's activities. The day after the elections, the mission's initial findings and conclusions will be presented at a joint press conference. A final report with a comprehensive assessment and potential recommendations to help improve the process for the future will be published in the months following the elections.
