ODIHR observers are also monitoring the elections in Serbia. Gilles Baum, the OSCE Special Coordinator for the short-term observation mission, said that high voter turnout is a positive sign for the country. Meanwhile, Federica Honori, Head of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly delegation, stressed that not all ODIHR recommendations had been implemented.
Speaking at a press conference, Baum said the early parliamentary elections were important for Serbia.
“We have noticed considerable interest in these elections, and I would say that high voter turnout shows that people in Serbia are very interested in shaping their future and their democracy. When many people go out to vote, that is a positive sign for the country,” he said.
Federica Honori, who is also an Italian member of parliament, said that approximately 70 members of the mission were monitoring the elections across Serbia. She added that the mission would have a comprehensive overview of the situation by the end of the day and would present its findings at a press conference scheduled for tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. at the Metropol Hotel.
Baum also noted that the ODIHR mission had met with two major political groups, the Student List and the United Serbia List. According to him, both groups said they would recognise the election results once they were announced.
Early parliamentary elections are being held in Serbia today, with polling stations open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
A total of 6,451,292 voters are eligible to cast their ballots. The elections are taking place at 8,392 polling stations, including 29 in prisons and 93 abroad across 37 countries, where 102,147 voters are registered.
In total, 2,418 candidates from 18 electoral lists are competing for 250 seats in Serbia’s parliament. Half of the lists reportedly have minority-list status. The electoral threshold for parliamentary representation is 3%, while a natural threshold applies to lists representing national minorities.
According to information from the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK), voting was temporarily suspended at polling station No. 3 in Kraljevo because a page containing registered voters was missing from the electoral roll.
Voting resumed after the complete list of registered voters arrived at the polling station.
