OSCE Parliamentarians to Observe Serbia's October 25 Vote
About 80 lawmakers and staff from 29 countries will work alongside the ODIHR mission and delegations of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament. First findings come a day after the vote.
A delegation of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly made up of about 80 lawmakers and staff members from 29 countries is coming to Serbia’s snap parliamentary elections on October 25, the organization said on October 15. The same statement set the date for the observers’ first public conclusions: Monday, October 26, at a joint press conference in Belgrade.
Who leads the delegation
The delegation is headed by Federica Onori of Italy, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s special representative on artificial intelligence. The special coordinator of the mission is Gilles Baume.
According to the statement, this is the 12th election observation mission of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Serbia. The organization says that reflects its continued efforts to support democratic processes and improve electoral practice in its member states.
Who the observers work with
The delegation will cooperate closely with three partners:
- the ODIHR observation mission, led by Eoghan Murphy of Ireland
- the delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), headed by Piero Fassino of Italy
- the European Parliament delegation, led by Andreas Schieder of Austria
It was reported earlier that the ODIHR mission has 14 experts in Belgrade, 30 long-term observers and about 300 short-term observers who arrive just before election day.
What observers do before the vote and on election day
Ahead of the election, observers receive briefings from representatives of electoral bodies, political parties, civil society, the media and independent experts. After two days of consultations, they deploy across Serbia.
On election day they visit polling stations and follow the voting, the counting and the whole electoral process. Their findings are pooled and analyzed, then feed into the international mission’s preliminary conclusions. The election will be assessed against the OSCE’s 1990 Copenhagen Document and other international commitments and standards for democratic elections.
What the delegation said
Gilles Baume said in the statement how he sees the moment Serbia is in:
“Given the pronounced polarization and the changes on the political scene, this election is taking place at a particularly important moment for Serbia.”
Federica Onori said it matters that election day passes peacefully, and added:
“We hope election day will pass in a spirit of openness and mutual respect, allowing citizens across Serbia to make their voices heard and contribute to the country’s democratic future.”
Onori also said that the participation of so many lawmakers reflects the organization’s strong commitment to international election observation and its solidarity with the people of Serbia as they exercise their democratic rights.
