The European Union is expected to mobilize more extensively to monitor Serbia’s upcoming parliamentary elections than it did during the 2023 vote, according to Bojana Selaković, coordinator of the National Convention on the European Union.
Selaković said the October 25 snap parliamentary elections are likely to attract a significantly larger international monitoring effort, including an expanded mission from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
She also noted that the European Parliament has announced plans to deploy its own long-term election observation mission to Serbia.
“They have not done this since 2014, when they had such a mission for elections in Ukraine. This shows that they do not perceive this as a normal situation, or as elections after which everything will simply return to the status quo,” Selaković said.
Speaking to N1, she also criticized rhetoric coming from government officials ahead of the election, saying authorities have promoted a narrative portraying student protesters and demonstrators as “violent blockers” seeking to seize state institutions rather than participate in the democratic process.
According to Selaković, officials at different levels of government have also warned that the opposition could refuse to recognize the election results, resort to violence and push Serbia into chaos.
She said such rhetoric could potentially be preparing the public for scenarios that may already have been considered by those in power.
Selaković added that the student-led protest movement had, until the calling of the elections, failed to produce a clearly articulated political platform or a political organization capable of establishing direct communication with the European Union.
EU Focused on Stability in the Western Balkans
Discussing the EU’s approach to Serbia and the Western Balkans, Selaković said Brussels primarily views the region through a security and stability lens, particularly amid an increasingly unstable geopolitical environment.
She argued that the EU is unlikely to intervene more actively in Serbia’s domestic political developments as long as it considers the situation sufficiently stable.
“As long as the EU does not perceive Serbia as a security threat, it has no interest in becoming more actively involved here,” Selaković concluded.
The October election is expected to face increased scrutiny from international observers amid continuing political tensions, concerns over democratic standards and calls for greater oversight of Serbia’s electoral process.
