About us

Before changing its name by the end of 2009, the CRTA was called Linet (Liberal Network). Its mission was to contribute to the successful transition of Serbia to a developed democratic society through the promotion of active participation of citizens in social processes and the development of their advocacy capacities.

The CRTA produced a film “Final Word” that deals with judicial proceedings for the assassination of the first democratic Prime Minister of Serbia, dr Zoran Đinđić (http://www.zavrsnarec.rs/). The film premiered on the occasion of the anniversary of the assassination, on March 12^th.  You can watch the film on this link.

The CRTA launched the first fact-checking portal in Serbia and in the entire region – Istinomer.rs. The Truth-O-Meter invites politicians and all public figures to account for publicly given statements and promises. The Truth-O-Meter is a mechanism that checks the facts assessing public officials’ and politicians’ statements and analysing all important social and economic issues.

The cult video-project  “Retrovizor” first aired in the Truth-O-Meter. Ljuba Živkov analyses for the Truth-O-Meter all political and social events in his signature fashion.

On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of democratic changes, the CRTA produced a documentary film “Let’s Not Lie to One Another”.

During the elections called on all levels, the Truth-O-Meter initiated a series of debates entitled “Let’s Not Lie to One Another” during which politicians were called to account for their actions to citizens. Topics focused on the accountability of politicians, their election promises and on current issues solving. You can watch the documentary film about these debates on this link.

In cooperation with four partner organisations, the CRTA launched the Open Parliament Initiative aiming to monitor the work of the elected deputies and to increase the publicity of the work of the National Parliament.  It was the first time that the citizens had been provided with the information about parliamentary practices and procedures on the website  http://www.otvoreniparlament.rs/ .

Within the scope of this initiative, the CRTA launched the portal www.pratipare.rs which enables the citizens to monitor how local authorities manage the budget, the amounts of money allocated to certain projects and whether and how they are implemented. The CRTA created “Civil Budgets” that explains in easy-to-understand language how and for what purposes public resources are used.

The Truth-O-Meter initiated an online petition asking people to react against a new appointing of the Serbian Socialist Party official Milutin Mrkonjić to the Government, as according to the Truth-O-Meter analysis, he had been the least accountable public official in the previous four years. In only four days, the petition was signed by more than 4,000 citizens.

This research, performed in accordance with the methodology from the Hansard Society from Great Britain represents a particular overview of the democratic state of the society. The extent to which citizens are willing to engage in social processes, exercise their civil rights and influence decision-makers is an indicator of the “health” of a society.

The CRTA became a part of Openingparliament.org, a global forum gathering more than 140 organisations throughout the world that are engaged in monitoring, supporting and opening up of parliaments and  legislative institutions in their countries. The CRTA participates in the creation of a global  Declaration on Parliament Openness.

In cooperation with the Centre for Non-Profit Sector Development, the CRTA launched the portal voditeracuna.rs in order to provide the citizens with all necessary information about finances, to invite them to join different initiatives aiming to control how the budget money is spent or to ask questions to financial experts.

The Truth-O-Meter launched a campaign to dismiss the Minister of Education when a scandal involving primary school final exams took place for the third consecutive year in a row. The Minister showed through his actions that he was not worthy of such an important public function. After the reconstruction of the Government, the Minister Education was replaced. Video regarding campaign you may watch here.

The NDI honoured the director of the CRTA Vukosava Crnjanski  with its the W. Averell Harriman Democracy Award, that is dedicated to civic society representatives in the entire world who, through initiatives based on the use of new technologies, have contributed to empowering citizens to hold public officials accountable and to demand transparency in the work of state institutions.

Truth-O-Meter Interviews

The Truth-O-Meter initiated a video-production and started broadcasting “Truth-O-Meter Interviews”. More than 100 interviews have been filmed so far with public officials, politicians and public figures. The focus of those interviews remained on political accountability issues. You can watch all interviews here.

The CRTA in the Open Government Partnership

The CRTA has been active in the Open government partnership initiative (OGP) since 2014, on a global and national level. The OGP is a voluntary, multilateral initiative aimed at securing government obligations towards its citizens in terms of promoting transparency, empowering citizens, fighting corruption and using new technologies to strengthen the governance system.

On the occasion of the International Day of Democracy, the CRTA presented the findings of the new research “Audit of political engagement Serbia”. Compared to 2013, citizens of Serbia believe more that their actions can lead to changes and at the same time they express greater readiness to actually engage in certain action in the future.

On the model of the manifestation organised by the Parliament of Great Britain, in cooperation with the National Parliament of the Republic of Serbia, the CRTA organised the first “Parliament Week”. During a week, different events and debates were organised aiming to connect citizens with the work of the National Parliament and to include them in democratic processes. You can see the firstParliament Week in this  link.

The CRTA launched a Data Centre as an open online platform that enables an easy access to data sets about various public information in Serbia, at the state and at a local level. It was developed to help journalists, activists, researchers and public officials in their search for valuable data to support their stories, campaigns, analyses and decision-making processes.

The third research “Audit of political engagement 2015”  presented on the occasion of the International Day of Democracy showed that a  large number of respondents in Serbia (70 per cent) believe that politicians should be primarily accountable to citizens. The results show a mild increase in citizens’ interest in politics in relation to previous years when their lack of interest was constantly growing.

This is the first time that the CRTA has monitored parliamentary and local elections as a domestic election observation mission in accordance with international standards implying monitoring of the pre-election period, the Election Day and the post-election period. The CRTA organised the entire observation mission in only six weeks and gather over 1,000 participants. Full report is available on this link.

During the extraordinary parliamentary election, the Truth-O-Meter created Voters’ Manifesto in order to voice out to politicians what voters stand for.

The Truth-O-Meter developed the application “Check me” that allows to citizens to send quickly and easily to the Truth-O-Meter any news seen on the Internet so that the Truth-O-Meter’s team could fast-check it. The application can be downloaded here and the instructions for its use are explained in this video.

The results of the fourth research “Audit of political engagement 2016” show that a mere third of citizens participate in the political life of Serbia or at least believe in the citizen participation efficiency. Nevertheless, a mild positive trend can be observed when it comes to citizens’ general readiness to participate in democratic processes.

The second Parliament Week gathered 60 partner organisations that organised more than 100 different events and activities in 20 cities and municipalities of Serbia. Compared to 2015, during the second Parliament Week there were twice as many events and activities organised aiming at opening a forum for discussion about parliamentary democracy.

CRTA announced the launching of the Inspiring Girls Campaign modeled on a very successful UK campaign which  gathered 26,000 female volunteers  – thriving women with different backgrounds who volunteered an hour a year in primary schools and talked to girls about their proper experiences and different possibilities that life and career may bring. In three years, this campaign attracted 300,000 girls in the UK.

At the General Assembly of the European Network of Election Monitoring Organisations (ENEMO), the CRTA became an associated member which is the first step toward full membership in this organisation. The ENEMO strives to promote the engagement of civil society organisations in democratic processes with the aim of improving the quality of electoral processes.

The CRTA launched the portal “Who is my Government” where citizens can quickly and easily find all information about deputies’ party affiliation, who shifted allegiance after the elections, who supports the Government and who does not.  In almost one third of cities and municipalities in Serbia, there were more than one hundred cases of turncoat politicians after the last local elections held in 2016.

During the presidential elections, the CRTA observed the entire election process as a domestic observation mission. More than 1,000 observers participated in the mission. The final report is available on this link.

The Truth-O-Meter launched “Truth-O-Meter News” as a daily dose of breaking news in order to inform citizens not only about what happened but also to explain why it happened.  You can get a morning briefing at 7 am every day on your e-mail or through a web or mobile application.

The Truth-O-Meter became a part of a global network that gathers fact-checking organisations after the evaluation process. The network comprises a total of 49 organisations form the whole world. Read more about this topic on this link.

After more than ten tears, Wilton Park, the executive agency of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, organised in Serbia, in cooperation with the CRTA a conference aiming to encourage dialogues on the issues of quality of election processes and mechanisms for citizen participation in periods between elections.

The fifth opinion poll “Audit of political engagement 2017”shows that only one in four citizens of Serbia are interested in politics, whereas the confidence in citizen engagement efficiency has been reduced this year and is at the lowest level in the last five years. The results indicate that the general trend of positive changes noted in the previous year has ceased.

CRTA monitored elections for the Assembly of the City of Belgrade councillors. As the capital and the largest city in the country, Belgrade bears a huge political and economic significance  (one fourth of Serbia’s voters have the right to vote at these elections and that the ratio of political powers in Belgrade and in the rest of the country is not entirely identical).

The CRTA received the OSCE “Democracy Defender” Award for 2018 that is handed out to individuals and groups for their outstanding contribution to promotion of democracy and human rights protection in the spirit of the Declaration of Helsinki and other OSCE principles and values.  The “Democracy Defender” Award was established in 2016.

CRTA’s election observation mission organized the monitoring of the work of polling boards at all 43 polls in municipality of Lucani, while mobile monitoring teams observed electoral developments on the day of the vote in other three municipalities.

CRTA submitted criminal charges on account of misuse of public resources against responsible persons in 11 public bodies and companies whose vehicles were present in Lucani during local elections on December 16, 2018.

The main findings of the research “Citizens’ Participation in Democratic Processes 2018”, that CRTA conducts six years in a row, show a trend of increase of the support for democracy as the best system for Serbia, while the support for the “firm hand” politics decreased.

CRTA launched the campaign “Serbia in Quest for Information” for the defense of the public right to know in cooperation with more than 80 partner organizations. The campaign aimed to stop the adoption of amendments to the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance, initiated by the government with the intention to limit the access to information about the work of public institutions.

CRTA established the “Voice of Courage” award to acknowledge those who do not give up and persist in the fight for protection of citizen rights, those who believe and act towards meaningful democratic changes, in an environment marked by the general lack of trust and growing apathy. The recipient of the 2018 award was the initiative “We do not give up the Nis airport”.

Continued monitoring and assessment of citizens’ perceptions regarding democracy and democratic participation in Serbia this year showed the lack of systemic changes that could be considered as positive or negative trends in particular areas.

On the occasion of the International Day of Democracy CRTA and its partners’ network organized the Democracy Festival under the slogan “There is no going back”, similar to other festivals celebrating democratic values around the world, as a response to growing challenges and threats facing democracy.

Being the organization advocating for free and fair elections, CRTA developed the set of recommendations aimed to support the improvement of electoral conditions, and presented them as an expert to participants of the multi-party dialogue, organized at the Faculty of Political Sciences.

Istinomer (Eng. Truth-o-Meter), the first fact-checking portal in the region, initiated and launched by CRTA, celebrated ten years of operation, pledging that it will continue to defend the truth with even greater determination, and will persist in its fight against the spread of lies.

CRTA awarded the “Voice of Courage 2019” to Marija Lukic, who proved that the fight is important even if the opponent seems stronger. This award is presented by CRTA to all those who do not give up and persist in the fight for protection of citizen rights, those who believe and act towards meaningful democratic changes, in an environment marked by the general lack of trust and growing apathy.

CRTA launched the media campaign “Standing by Democracy” with an intention to encourage citizens to defend already fledgling democracy, to act as true citizens, with all rights, freedoms and responsibilities.

In accordance with international standards, CRTA observed the entire electoral process in 2020 parliamentary elections, and assessed the worst quality of these elections if compared to all prior elections monitored by CRTA, both in relation to the election day and the overall electoral process.

Together with the France Press Agency, Istinomer (Eng. Truth-o-Meter) became the official partner to Facebook for Serbia in fighting disinformation spreading across this social network. Istinomer daily verifies the content and discloses false news and disinformation expending through the Facebook platform.

Considering the short period before citizens will have the opportunity to vote in the next elections, CRTA produced additional recommendations for improvement of electoral conditions.

Voting in elections is seeing as the only mode of political engagement by majority of citizens. More than 90 percent of citizens in the last year did not initiate nor participate in any action or initiative aimed at resolving problems in local communities, showed CRTA’s latest research “Citizens’ Participation in Democratic Processes in Serbia 2020”.

CRTA presented the “Voice of Courage” award for citizens’ courage and activism in 2020 to Aleksandar Obradovic, the whistleblower from the Valjevo factory “Krusik”.

On the occasion of the International Fact-checking Day, CRTA’s fact-checking initiative Istinomer (Eng. Truth-o-Meter) launched the campaign “Istinomer or Polygraph”, to point to the importance of truthful and verified information in the sea of false news and disinformation.

Diverse life dramas of those who gave up hope in fear for even worse remain hidden among findings of many reports on the state of democracy, presented with the use of numerous statistics and cold terminology. As a response, CRTA launched the “Yet there is Hope” campaign with the use of emotion as a language.

International Fact-checking Network (IFCN), has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Although being just a nomination, this is an important recognition of the fact-checking work around the world and its importance in the fight against disinformation, even with frequent attacks and intimidation attempts. Istinomer (Eng. Truth-o-Meter) is a member of IFCN since 2017.

The main conclusion of the CRTA’s study “Undermining Democracy” is that Serbia now does not fulfil basic requirements for being a democratic society. While the country possessed formal characteristics of democracy, its democracy was largely undermined in the last decade.

Whistleblower Milenko Jovanovic, who in the defense of his own professional integrity, and thus the public interest, opposed the decision of the Director of the Environment Protection Agency and was consequently laid off, received the CRTA’s “Voice of Courage” award for 2021.

In an effort to support activists and civic groups, committed to and active in defending public interest when endangered, CRTA launched the campaign “Citizens have the Power”.

After almost three decades, electoral legislation is subject of changes. CRTA participated in public discussion and submitted amendments to all MPs in an effort to protect the public interest in elections.

Four months ahead of the official announcement of the 2022 elections, CRTA established the election observation mission and began with monitoring of developments preceding the official election campaign. Within this period, CRTA dedicated special attention to changes of electoral rules and procedures, that emerged from two rounds of the inter-party dialogue.

Results of the research show the increased support to democracy (54% of citizens mainly or completely agreed with the stand that democracy is the best political system for our country, in comparison with less than a half of citizens expressing the same attitudes in April 2021).

CRTA observed the campaign and the day of the vote in referendum on changes to the Constitution in the area of judiciary, and assessed that irregularities recorded on the referendum day raise serious concerns in light of the upcoming elections.

In its role of the domestic election observation mission, CRTA assessed in its report that the period preceding the official announcement of 2022 elections was marked with mass electoral abuses and pronounced inequality of electoral contestants.

In light of 2022 elections CRTA launched the “Get Out to Vote (GOTV)” campaign, in order to invite and mobilize citizens of Serbia to participate in the upcoming elections, and freely and consciously express their will.

CRTA launched the campaign “Vote, Young Friend” to motivate members of the youth to exercise their voting right and participate in 2022 elections.

To mark 10 years of the Open Parliament initiative, an online campaign was launched under the slogan “Parliament, Not an Ornament”

Vukosava Crnjanski was awarded the French medal of the Knight of the National Order of Merit, established by Charles de Gaulle in 1963 as a distinction for exceptional civil or military achievements, alongside the renowned Legion of Honor.

Aimed at encouraging citizens to resist political pressures and show solidarity with those intimidated by political actors, this campaign challenged the normalization of political pressure. Stories from Ranka Kasikovic and Stefan Vukic illustrated that it is possible to say “NO” and break free from political manipulation.

Following the tragic mass shootings in May, where 19 young people lost their lives, CRTA, together with 19 organizations, launched the platform Against Violence.

In 2023, CRTA honored citizens who demonstrated courage through peaceful protests against violence in Serbia. Honorees included the informal group “Students Against Violence”, local activists and organizers of the “Serbia Against Violence” protests in Petrovac na Mlavi, activist Dragana Arsic from the movement “Defend Fruska Gora Forests”, Ranka Kasikovic from Subotica and Stefan Vukic from Pozarevac who publicly resisted political pressures at work, prosecutors Bojana Savovic, Jasmina Paunovic and Predrag Milovanovic, former REM Council member Judita Popovic, and the “Local Front” from Kraljevo.

CRTA published research on political pressures and clientelist networks in social work centers.

Ahead of the 2023 elections, CRTA launched a campaign “Observers are Important Players” to motivate citizens to actively demand free and fair elections and to join CRTA’s Observation Mission.

Previous research and experiences have pointed to serious issues in the democratic process related to pressure on voters. In order to promote the awareness of the importance of free voting, a GOTV campaign was launched (“A Pencil Circles with the Heart”), emphasizing the importance of the fight for free elections and solidarity.

CRTA assessed that the extraordinary parliamentary and Belgrade elections were neither free nor fair. The results were significantly influenced by the ruling party’s unlawful advantages, aided by several state institutions, including the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and local authorities. Read the CRTA’s Final Election Observation Mission report here.

CRTA documented organized voter migrations, which influenced the results of the Belgrade elections, not reflecting the true will of the voters from Belgrade. Read more about this type of electoral engineering and manipulation here.

To motivate citizens to fight for fair and free elections, CRTA launched the campaign “Observe, for Belgrade”, aiming to mobilize citizens to join election observation in Belgrade.

Solidarity with the citizens of Ukraine and the tangible support provided by “Crocodile” in the form of humanitarian aid for the Perinatal Center in Kharkiv earned CRTA’s recognition.

 Inspired by CRTA’s Observation Mission findings, this research includes testimonies from citizens who were victims or witnesses of political pressures, especially heightened during election periods. Learn more at pritisci.crta.rs.

“We don’t believe in superheroes. We believe in prosecutors as heroes”. This was the main message of a campaign calling on public prosecutors to defend laws and justice with greater courage. Inspired by prosecutors who resist pressures and obstructions, CRTA emphasized the need for more bold professionals in Serbia.

Through the campaign “Open Your Eyes” CRTA invited citizens to report all electoral manipulations observed before and during the 2024 Belgrade elections.

As a domestic election observer, monitoring the elections in compliance with international standards, CRTA’s Election Observation Mission monitored the June 2 Belgrade elections for the City Assembly. On election day, CRTA observed and reported on elections from 450 polling stations based on a random, representative sample.

Bringing together over 300 participants, including academics, experts, engaged intellectuals and activists from Serbia and abroad, this conference addressed electoral processes and the crisis of electoral democracy. Through plenary sessions, expert round tables, working groups and workshops, discussions explored ways to counter political clientelism, electoral engineering and media manipulation, as well as the strengthening of mechanisms for election observation and analysis.

The exhibition “Erasing Illusions” examined the circumstances, mechanisms and consequences of erasing the illusion of a democratic society through citizens’ perspectives. Using documentary material, citizens’ statements, observer and voter reports, and media coverage, it presented a curatorial interpretation of the December 17, 2023 election report.

CRTA’s fact-checking media outlet Istinomer launched a campaign to highlight the growing trend of spin over truth, playfully renaming itself iSPINomer.