#10 PREVENT PRESSURE ON VOTERS AND ENSURE FREEDOM OF CHOICE

The Code of the Venice Commission establishes the mandatory secrecy of voting (VC I.4). Any control of one voter over another must be prohibited, and the records of voters must not be published (I.4.b, c), while violation of the secrecy of the ballot must be punished. (I.4.d). In order for these standards to be met, it is necessary to undertake the following:

1. Additionally improve legal provisions relating to the prohibition of pressure on employees in public companies and public administration

   Article 49, paragraph 4 of the Law on Public Companies has been amended by specifying that unscrupulous conduct of directors is the basis for dismissal. Another cases have not been foreseen, it is necessary to do so.  Also, amendments to article 49 consider exerting pressure on employees and otherwise engaged personnel in a public company in connection with support to political entities or candidates in the elections as unscrupulous conduct of a director. The amendments also include situations in which a director was aware that an employee or otherwise employed personnel used the resources of the public company or used pressure to promote political entities or candidates in the elections, but took no action despite his/her competence to prevent it.

   In their internal acts, public companies should additionally regulate the measures that are applied to managers who are found to exert pressure on the company’s employees in any way.

2.  Improve the education and oversight/control of political subjects regarding the collection and handling of personal data

   Since cases of misuse of citizens’ personal data by political parties that are actors in the campaign are repeated from one election cycle to another, it is necessary for the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection to take proactive measures in terms of oversight/control and education of political subjects regarding compliance with the law in the part related to the collection and handling of personal data. Organising additional trainings and activities focused on education and improvement of internal procedures of political parties related to the collection and handling of voters’ personal data can contribute to reducing the number of misuses of personal data.

3.  Include centers for social work in the plan of regular inspection of the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection

   During the election campaign, allegations were made on several occasions that political entities have data on the identity of voters, which were given to them by centres for social work throughout Serbia, without a legal basis. In order to determine whether centres for social work, as handlers of personal data, process data in accordance with the Law on Personal Data Protection, the next annual inspection plan of the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection should foresee that regular inspection be performed at all centres for social work.