PRESS RELEASE
Serbia's elections in line with international
standards, says international observation mission
BELGRADE, 22 January 2007 - The 21 January
parliamentary elections in Serbia provided a genuine opportunity for the
citizens of Serbia to choose from a range of political platforms and were
in line with OSCE commitments and Council of Europe's standards for
democratic elections. Still, a few issues in the election legislation
remain to be addressed. Those are the conclusions of the International
Election Observation Mission (IEOM), announced in Belgrade
today.
"The elections in Serbia were free and fair," said OSCE
Parliamentary Assembly President Goran Lennmarker, Special
Co-Ordinator of the OSCE short-term observers. "I was personally
impressed and proud on behalf of the Serb people for the professional,
orderly and well-organized way they carried out this election. It bodes
well for Serbia's future."
Tadeusz Iwinski, the Head of the Delegation of the Council of
Europe Parliamentary Assembly, said: "The way the parliamentary
elections were held in Serbia proves that the country has made
significant progress towards ensuring a free expression of the will of
the electorate, whose active participation in the vote shows its intense
involvement in determining the vector of their country's development. All
this is extremely important in light of Serbia's upcoming chairmanship of
the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe that starts in May
2007."
Assen Agov, the Head of the NATO Assembly's Delegation,
added that "members of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly were glad to
observe elections that were free and fair. It was the first vote after
Serbia was invited to join the Partnership for Peace. We share the
conclusions of the IEOM and look forward to working with the new Serbian
parliament."
Ambassador Geert Ahrens, who heads the long-term election
observation mission deployed by the OSCE Office for Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in mid-December, said:
"The ODIHR sent an experienced and committed team of observers.
Their findings address the entire election process, including issues that
need future attention but are, on the whole, a compliment to the
democratic standards that Serbia has reached."
Six out of twenty political parties and coalitions represented
minorities, and for the first time in recent years Albanian minority
parties contested national elections.
The international observers also noted that the campaign was vigorous and
took place in an unrestricted atmosphere. A broad range of media provided
voters with extensive information about parties and their activities.
Public broadcasters generally provided balanced coverage of major
parties.
The election law provides safeguards that promote democratic election
practices, ensure transparency and protect the secrecy of the vote.
However, concerns have been raised regarding the law allowing parties to
choose, after the elections, which candidates take a seat in the
parliament, disregarding the order on the candidate's list.
Election day was calm and orderly, with observers assessing the vote and
the count positively.
The international observers noted some procedural irregularities, such as
low and flimsy voting screens which did not always ensure the secrecy of
the vote, late opening of polling stations and procedures not fully
observed during the count.
The International Election Observation Mission Statement can be found at:
http://www.osce.org/documents/odihr/2007/01/23041_en.pdf
Klas Bergman, OSCE
Parliamentary Assembly, +45 60 10 83 80,
klas@oscepa.dk
Urdur Gunnarsdottir,
OSCE/ODIHR: +48 603 683 122,
urdur.gunnarsdottir@odihr.pl
Vladimir Dronov, Council
of Europe Parliamentary Assembly: +33 662 139 351,
Vladimir.dronov@coe.int
Andrea Cellino, NATO
Parliamentary Assembly, +32 478 55 4811,
acellino@nato-pa.int