We demand that the authorities stop the repression against citizens, activists, and opposition figures who are seeking criminal accountability for the deaths of 15 citizens following the collapse of the roof at the railway station in Novi Sad. Repression against the people is growing increasingly brutal, and the highest state officials justify and encourage it….
During the conference, several expert groups led discussions on areas essential for implementing the electoral process: enhancing electoral administration, revising the voter registry, the role of prosecutors in protecting voter rights, and the work of media and public broadcasting services. Here we present the conclusions from these discussions, including working documents used as starting points…
Half-measures are insufficient and, given the state of institutions in Serbia, can only prolong the agony. The REM and the Public Service Broadcaster are two bodies that need a “reset”, to be rebuilt from the ground up. Integrity, knowledge, capacity and independence are the key elements needed to improve election administration, revise the voter registry,…
The election super year is marked by more fear than hope – due to the rise of the right, the strengthening of autocracies and political elites who, lacking solutions to crises and conflicts, are putting the rule of law on the back burner. A Donald Trump victory would push the issue of democracy out of…
If we choose education and culture, we’ll be able to choose everything else too – this was the message of the panel titled “Imagine there’s no…” Literary historian, anthropologist, classicist and writer Svetlana Slapšak, board member of the Center for the Defense of Human Rights “Memorial” Aleksandar Cherkasov and CRTA’s Creative Director Radovan Kupres discussed…
There are clear international standards for assessing and improving the electoral process, and key recommendations need to be implemented as quickly as possible, particularly in the period between elections. The topic of EU integration was not particularly visible during the elections in Serbia, previous ODIHR recommendations were not applied while, at the same time, the…
The exchange of services for votes knows no boundaries. Not those of states, nor of laws. At the panel “Political Web Hosting: Mechanisms and consequences of political clientelism in the Western Balkans and Beyond”, participants highlighted that the consequences of clientelist practices are borne by both citizens and institutions. “Clientelism persists because it is more…
How can we prevent those who attempt to stop voters from clearly expressing their will? How can we track down all election manipulations, expose them, and clear the path for citizens to the ballot box? At the panel “Migrations and Other Manipulations: How to Prevent Electoral Engineering?” participants agreed that the problem is significant, but…
Traditional media still set the agenda, especially in this part of Europe, but their audience is aging, and new actors are taking over that role. Social media and big tech companies have been complicating the fight for democracy for years, without any regulation. Communication and interaction with the audience, as well as concrete measures to…
