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On April 6th, the City Emergency Headquarters in Bor adopted 11 orders introducing, inter alia, measures hindering human and minority rights although the Constitution and the laws of Serbia do not foresee such authority of the city headquarters. Orders, issued contrary to provisions of the Constitution and the law considerably and illegally restrict human rights and introduce obligations, i.e. responsibilities for groups of citizens that laws do not recognise and to a large extent cause legal uncertainty amongst citizens.

CRTA’s election observation mission continued to observe the quality of the election process after the lifting of the state of emergency and the official reinstatement of the election process.

We urge politicians, both in power and in opposition, and especially the President of the Republic Aleksandar Vučić and other public officials to refrain from actions during the state of emergency and the entire nation’s fight against the epidemic, which in many ways leave the impression that they are still in the election campaign. We expect the President to exhibit statesmanship, and discharge duties vested in him by the Constitution, and not to give the public a reason to conclude that the dramatic situation in society is being used to reap political benefits.

CRTA’s election observation mission withdraws all of its 120 long-term observers from the field across Serbia due to the graveness of the situation with coronavirus. Puting the citizens’ safety as the key priority within these recent circumstances, we believe this to be the only appropriate and responsible decision. 

CRTA’s election observation mission has started the long-term observation of the pre-election period in Serbia in accordance with international standards for an independent election monitoring by citizen organizations. A team of 120 long-term observers has been monitoring key segments of the campaign for election of Members of the Parliament three weeks before the elections were…

CRTA’s election observation mission finalized the recruitment and training of more than 1.700 observers who will be deployed at the random representative sample of 500 polling stations on the Election Day on June 21. Observation of the election process at this sample will enable CRTA to report on election developments, as well as compliance with the law and electoral procedures at all polling stations in Serbia.

The claims that Olivera Zekić, the REM Council member made in the interview for the daily Večernje novosti, saying that television with national frequency ”do not have the obligation to provide space for the boycott advocates” are confusing for the public and can be interpreted as inadmissible interference with media editorial policy, as well as threatening the interest of the public to be informed as comprehensively as possible about the election process.

On the basis of a Draft Rulebook for carrying out the obligations by public service broadcasters, that the Regulatory Authority of Electronic Media  (REM) adopted on January 20th, CRTA regrets that the REM clearly has no intention to exercise its legal role and to protect the public interest in the electoral process. The adopted Rulebook did not include any of the essential suggestions made by the participants in the public debate that took place by the end of last year.

There won’t be any improvement of electoral conditions in the field of equal media representation if judged on the basis of two documents published by the Regulatory Authority of Electronic Media – Draft Rulebook on the manner of fulfilling public media service obligations during the election campaign and Draft Recommendations for commercial media service providers on ensuring representation without discrimination during the election campaign to all registered political parties, coalitions and candidates.