Rasuo: 236,280 More Valid ID Cards, MUP Must Explain

Two letters from the Interior Ministry (MUP), released to the media by Ognjen Rasuo, a Green-Left Front (ZLF) member of the commission for revising, verifying and updating the voter registry, show that the number of valid adult ID cards rose by 236,280 between May 18 and September 28, 2026. The letters do not say why. Rasuo and ZLF want MUP to explain it publicly before the October 25 election.

What do the MUP letters say?

MUP answered Rasuo’s requests twice, and the figures from both replies add up to the following:

• letter of June 4, 2026: as of May 18 there were 5,988,749 valid ID cards held by adults and 111,229 held by minors
• letter of October 10, 2026: as of September 28 there were 6,225,029 valid ID cards held by adults and 119,048 held by minors

The difference is 236,280 for adults, 7,819 for minors and 244,099 in total. That total is N1’s own calculation from the figures in the letters. On X, Rasuo cites rounded values, 5,990,000 for May 18 and 6,225,000 for September 28, while ZLF’s statement speaks of a rise of about 235,000.

The first letter is signed by the head of MUP’s Administrative Affairs Directorate, police colonel Dragana Trajkovic. Both letters repeat the same rule: under Article 20 of the Law on Identity Cards, a card expires on the holder’s death, and anyone in possession of a deceased person’s card must return it within 15 days. Once a death is entered in the electronic residence registry, the card expires automatically. Why the number of cards rose, the letters do not say.

What does Rasuo claim, and what does he ask for?

Rasuo says he twice asked the police for the number of valid ID cards. At a commission session he asked whether the figure was accurate and requested a check, suspecting a typing error: that 6,225,000 had been entered instead of 6,025,000. The answer, he says, was not what he hoped for.

“Not only did they not correct it, they don’t even see anything wrong. Everything is fine with them”

He says he checked the data three times and holds stamped documentation. The media report his remarks on the earlier pace of issuance differently: N1 and Danas say the three-month average of ID cards issued has not risen since July 2024, while Insajder says the level has been roughly the same since mid-2023.

Speaking to Insajder, Rasuo explained where he sees the problem:

“The number of people who can actually go out and vote has gone up. But we don’t see those people in the voter registry. The number of voters in the registry has not gone up by nearly that much”

We reported earlier on the total number of voters in the registry, 6,450,523 according to the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK). “If someone printed an illegal number of ID cards in any way, then that is a matter for the police. But what puzzles me is that the police issued those ID cards,” he told Insajder. He told Danas it is up to MUP to clarify the situation: “We can all be suspicious, but it is up to them to explain the situation convincingly, with data we will be able to verify”.

He also left open the possibility of a mistake: “And dear God, let it be that some police officer made an error and that it is some bureaucratic folly”. Still, he says he sees no reason for such growth: “There is no rational explanation whatsoever for such a rise in the number of ID cards.”

What does ZLF ask for, and what does MUP say?

In its statement, the Green-Left Front says an ID card identifies a voter at the polling station. If a surplus of a quarter of a million valid cards appears within a few months, and those people do not show up in the voter registry, citizens, ZLF argues, have a right to know who they are.

“Members of the commission for revising the voter registry have been persistently asking for the ID card records for months and have never received them.”

According to ZLF, MUP supplied only the total number of valid cards. The party wants MUP to explain the rise publicly and precisely before October 25, and to let commission members compare the voter registry with the ID card database, together with the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government and other competent bodies. Jelena Jerinic, a member of the ZLF Presidency and a law professor, said:

“The only correct move at this moment would be for MUP to publish an explanation immediately”

MUP’s response to these claims has not been published. Insajder says it contacted the ministry and that no reply had arrived by the time its text was published, and the other reports we read contain nothing beyond the contents of the two letters. Eleven days remain until the October 25 election, which is the time ZLF is giving the ministry to respond.