The Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia, Ana Brnabić, initiated a meeting yesterday with the Mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), representatives of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the European Union delegation in Serbia, led by Ambassadors Jan Braathu and Emanuele Gianfret, so that she would, along with the Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, Aleksandar Martinović, and the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection, Milan Marinović, present what has been done since 2012 to date on the updating of the voters` list in the Republic of Serbia and the creation of a unique, transparent electoral system.
The Prime Minister Brnabić informed the international partners that the Government of the Republic of Serbia already sent the invitation letter to the observation mission which would monitor local elections in Belgrade, as well as that the request was sent yesterday to the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), so that they could send one technical expert and a professional to assist with the further improvement of the unique voters` list and the clearer insight into it, all for the purpose of raising public confidence, in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Serbia.
The Prime Minister was pleased to inform the interlocutors that the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government took all the measures regarding the implementation of the recommendation 13, related to the full provision of the rights of all election actors to use public premises for the campaign under the equal conditions. Regarding that recommendation from ODIHR Report, it has been fully implemented by the decision issued by the Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government on establishing the mechanism for controlling the availability of facilities and premises publicly owned by local self-government units during the election campaign for all participants in the election process, which was yesterday published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia. By the aforementioned decision, the employees in the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government are authorized to receive complaints in case of possible irregularities, to act according to them, and to resolve the situation in direct contact with the management of the municipality or city.
Also, recommendation 23 was implemented, dealing with the provision of adequate space for polling stations in order to prevent overcrowding, ensuring the secrecy of voting and enabling easy independent access for voters with disabilities. Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government instructed all local election commissions to consider and implement an adequate division of polling stations where more than 1,800 voters cast their votes, in order to enable better conditions at polling stations on the Election Day, in terms of creating two or more polling stations.
EU Ambassador Emanuele Gianfret underlined the importance that the EU attaches to the rapid implementation of ODIHR recommendations for strengthening the electoral framework. He expressed his gratitude to the Prime Minister for quickly reconvening the interdepartmental forum, in order to respond to the recommendations and request technical assistance from the ODIHR. He emphasized the need for a meaningful and inclusive process, which will include all relevant actors, in order to increase public trust.
The Prime Minister thanked the representatives of the OSCE and the EU for their institutional cooperation, support, openness to listen and propose some additional activities that they believe will help the electoral process in our country and contribute to even greater improvement and control of the voters` list, all for the sake of successful election processes in the future.
Photo Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government: The Source Government of the Republic of Serbia
