Election Commission Ignores BIRODI Request for 17 Days

The Bureau for Social Research (BIRODI) said today that the Republic Election Commission (RIK) has not responded to a petition it received on July 27, asking that election data from election night be made available in machine readable format. Seventeen days have passed since the petition was filed.

BIRODI says the commission has not even sent the basic administrative confirmation that the petition was received and registered, nor its case number, even though the submission explicitly asked that the document be registered and the number passed on to the sender. There has also been no word on whether the commission has begun acting on the requests at all. BIRODI’s executive director is Zoran Gavrilovic.

Three requests in one petition

The July 27 petition contains three points:

• opening election data in machine readable format
• setting a technical specification for that open data
• making the same data available to all election participants and interested parties at the same time

None of this asks for a change to election legislation. It concerns the form in which the commission publishes what it already publishes, in other words whether the table of results by polling station can be downloaded and processed, or whether the numbers can only be reached by hand, one polling station at a time.

What would open data mean on election night?

In BIRODI’s assessment, publishing complete, structured, machine readable data would let election participants, observer organizations, researchers, media and experts analyze results without delay. The goal is to spot statistical anomalies and compare published figures against polling board minutes and against what was actually in the ballot boxes.

The bureau’s statement puts particular weight on the idea that every actor must get the same data, at the same time.

“BIRODI specifically points out that equal standing among election participants requires that everyone have access to the same data, in the same scope, format and moment. Selective, incomplete or delayed availability of data creates room for privileged access, prevents equal oversight of election results and undermines public trust in the election process,” the statement reads.

BIRODI reads the absence of even a basic confirmation that the petition was logged as a question about the commission’s attitude toward public oversight of the election process.

The same request, not for the first time

The request is not new. BIRODI has previously asked the Republic Election Commission to publish the results of the 2023 parliamentary and Belgrade elections by polling station in tabular form, arguing that such data allows a mathematical analysis capable of identifying possible irregularities.

At the time, BIRODI published its own analysis of the 2022 Belgrade election results, built on Benford’s Law and based on data that was available in tabular form. According to that analysis, the number of voters who cast ballots and the results of the Serbian Progressive Party list showed signs that the published figures deviated from the expected distribution of digits. BIRODI said then that it would run a detailed forensic analysis as soon as the full database became available.

That is where this request fits into the organization’s broader plan.

“The three requests are part of BIRODI’s effort to make election forensics one of the tools for improving election integrity in Serbia,” the statement adds.

A call to the commission

BIRODI called on the Republic Election Commission to confirm receipt of the petition without further delay, to provide the case number, to respond to the requests it filed, and to ensure that election night results are made available to all participants at the same time and in machine readable format.

“Open election data is not just a technical issue. It is one of the basic conditions for public oversight of elections, equal standing among election participants and public trust in election results,” BIRODI concluded.

The Republic Election Commission had not responded to BIRODI’s claims by the time this article was published.