International monitors raise concerns over fairness and safety of Serbia's election

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — The European Union and international monitors have raised concerns about the fairness of Serbia ’s early parliamentary election on Oct. 25 as political tensions run high in the country.

The EU mission in Serbia, a delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights all warned that the election is taking place in an atmosphere of deep polarization between the populist government of former President Aleksandar Vucic and its opponents.

The EU mission said on Tuesday it was “concerned by several reported incidents of violence which have no place in an electoral process.” A statement urged “all relevant institutions to act swiftly in cases of possible irregularities during the campaign and on election day.”

The high-stakes polls will decide whether Vucic will return as prime minister after facing almost two years of student-led protests. Vucic stepped down in September, more than seven months before the end of his second and final term, to lead his Serbian Progressive Party’s campaign for a majority in Serbia’s 250-seat parliament and extend the populists’ 14-year rule.

Analysts have predicted a tight race, a high turnout and a referendum-like atmosphere between Vucic’s SNS party and the Students’ List ticket, an electoral arm of the youth movement behind the mass protests that started after a train station tragedy on Nov. 1, 2024, that killed 16 people.

Almost daily protests have shaken Vucic’s previously unchallenged rule in Serbia. Critics say that the populist leader has relied on pro-government media and full control over institutions for a prolonged grip on power. His alleged crackdown on democracy and civil liberties has stalled Serbia’s effort at EU membership.

Vucic and his allies have often labelled the student-led protests, critical media and civil society groups as foreign agents attempting to create chaos on election day without providing evidence.

“The electoral campaign in Serbia is taking place in a highly polarized environment that could undermine a level playing field for contestants,” the parliamentary delegation of the Council of Europe, or PACE, said in a statement on Wednesday.

It noted “the hostile and aggressive rhetoric targeting activists from the opposition, civil society representatives and journalists,” and the ”persistent and credible allegations of surveillance as well as concerns about the safety of voters and observers.”

In their interim report, the OSCE officials said some of their “priority" recommendations for the 2023 election have been ignored. Those included voter intimidation, safety of journalists, voter roll accuracy, and the work of the media regulator.

Allegations of fraud, protests and violent incidents marked the 2023 parliamentary election, as well as a local ballot in 10 Serbian municipalities earlier this year. Repeated concerns this year about the “accuracy of voter lists and arrangements for out-of-country voting” have raised questions about risks of electoral manipulation, the PACE delegation said.

The Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability, a local nonprofit, said the Oct. 25 election was already “irregular" because voting rights were under threat by “intimidation, violence, and unlawful surveillance.”

The group described as “unprecedented” the decision by the state election commission to align foreign voting hours with the country’s Central European time zone and accept a contested list of polling stations abroad. The decision, which ignited a political firestorm, means that thousands of overseas voters would have to cast their ballots late at night or travel thousands of miles to the nearest polling station.

Serbian authorities made no official comment on the observers’ statements. But coverage in pro-government media highlighted positive appraisal of election legislation, and the fact that electoral commission hearings are now public and livestreamed.

The EU delegation said free and fair elections were a prerequisite for progress towards potential membership of the bloc. Serbia is formally a candidate, but Vucic has maintained close ties with Russia and China.