#14 DETERMINE LEGAL DEADLINES THAT WOULD ENABLE EFFECTIVE PROTECTION OF THE ELECTORAL RIGHTS

In order for the electoral right protection process to be effective, the Venice Commission proposes that the deadlines for filing appeals, as well as deciding on appeals, must be short, i.e. that they should be between three and five days in the first instance proceedings. (I.3.3.g). In order for these standards to be met, it is necessary to undertake the following:

1.  Adjust the deadlines for determining the results of the elections for the President of the Republic with the deadlines regulating the duration of the campaign

   Pursuant the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, the election campaign preceding the election of the President of the Republic may last no longer than 60 days from the day of calling the elections. The new president must take the oath no later than 90 days from the day of calling the elections, because on that day the term of office of the previous president expires. Therefore, the deadlines for conducting elections and protecting the right to vote must be set so that the overall election results are announced within less than 30 days from the day of calling the elections. At the same time, one should bear in mind that, if none of the candidates receives the support of the majority of voters who voted in the elections in the “first round”, in accordance with the Law on the Election of the President of the Republic, the voting shall be repeated. In that case, the overall election results must be determined twice: after the first round and then again after a repeat voting. As the existing legal framework prescribes three-level protection of electoral rights and foresees long deadlines for filing legal remedies and decision-making, it is necessary to consider the possibility of returning to two-stage protection (before the REC and the Administrative Court) and reducing the deadline for filing legal remedies and deciding from 72 hours to 48 hours.

2. Oblige the Constitutional Court to make a decision on the suspension of the application of the act in electoral disputes within five days

   The provision amending the Law on the Constitutional Court refers to the introduction of the obligation for the Constitutional Court to suspend the execution of an individual act within five days from the day of submitting the initiative for assessing the constitutionality or legality of a general act, which relates to electoral matters. or actions taken on the basis of a general act which is the subject of normative control.