A Serbian election-monitoring organisation has raised concerns over an alleged voter-registration campaign targeting people with dual citizenship in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.
CRTA says the Banja Luka branch of Serbia’s ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) has been contacting dual citizens ahead of Serbia’s next elections and offering assistance with registering to vote.
The organisation published audio recordings which it says capture conversations between residents and people claiming to represent the SNS.
In one recording, a woman identifying herself as Sara from the SNS asks a resident if a “mobile team” can visit his home to scan his Serbian identity card. She says the process would involve reading the card’s electronic chip and would take about a minute.
The woman reportedly tells the resident that, after the procedure, he would be informed where he could vote, including at the Serbian consulate or another designated location in Banja Luka.
When asked whether the registration was being carried out by the consulate or the political party, she reportedly confirms that it was an SNS activity organised through its Banja Luka branch.
CRTA has questioned the collection of personal data by a political party and the role it is allegedly playing in facilitating voter registration.
The watchdog has also published another account involving people who allegedly visited residents at their homes while identifying themselves as officials of the Serbian consulate. According to CRTA, they asked residents about their plans to vote in Serbia.
The organisation says the situation raises questions about how citizens’ personal information is being collected, who has access to it and whether it could be used for purposes beyond election registration.
The recordings also show residents discussing whether they will be able to vote in Serbia while travelling elsewhere in the region.
CRTA’s allegations have not been independently verified, and the material cited does not establish whether any electoral rules were breached. However, the claims have prompted renewed questions over voter registration, political party involvement and the handling of personal data among Serbian citizens living outside Serbia.
