Election chronicle for 2023: The view from the side

Abstract

The author in this paper presents the views of the external observers (international election observation missions) of the parliamentary Elections in Serbia: Venice Commissions, Council of Europe and the OSCE. The main emphasis is placed on an analysis of the assessment of certain segments of the novelties in the Serbian electoral laws and its application in practice. Due to the limited extent of the paper, only several important issues of the Serbian political and legal system were examined, such as early elections, electoral administration, weaknesses of the electoral system, the state of the media, etc. In the first place, international observers point out that the "culture" of early elections impacts the efficient and autonomous functioning of the parliament. The important recommendation which lawmakers should consider is consolidation and harmonisation of the electoral laws into one law or in special codification. Serious objection is sent to provision which regulated the election management bodies, due to their inability to prevent voter intimidation and pressure on voters in polling stations and to build the general trust of the electorate in the electoral processes. The observes noticed numerous irregularities prior to the elections, that raise a number of concerns regarding freedom of expression and intimidation and harassment of civil activists, as well as other human rights of the defenders and journalists. Such concerns are followed by the fact that incumbents' and ruling parties' activities usually enjoy extensive, uncritical and, at times, promotional coverage in public and government-affiliated private media. At the very end of paper, there is a summary review of the preliminary analysis of the last elections. The main goal of the paper is to provide the reader with the key views of the mentioned international bodies. Also, the author seeks to present the views of the Serbian scientific community on the mentioned issues, as well as to offer original solutions, which could be used in some future constitutional and legal reform.