Serbia - Election 2020
Serbia postponed the 26 April 2020 elections due to the declared state of emergency of 17 March 2020. According to the Constitution, the elections should be called by the President 90 days before the expiry of the current parliament’s term. The legislation further stipulates that not less than 45 days, and no more than 60 days shall pass between the day of calling of the elections and election day.
The elections will be held against the backdrop of increasing political polarization and public disillusionment with politics. Since March 2019, several opposition parties are boycotting parliamentary sessions due to stated inability to participate effectively in the legislative debate and to present the draft amendments. Since late 2018, weekly peaceful rallies are taking place in the capital city and across the country with protesters denouncing the rise of authoritarian tendencies of the government and the lack of media freedom. Several mediation and dialogue initiatives seeking to bring together the representatives of the ruling coalition and the opposition parties have not borne.
In May 2020, the U.S.-based Freedom House said it no longer considers Serbia a democracy "after years of increasing state capture, abuse of power, and strongman tactics" by President Aleksandar Vucic. The democracy watchdog said in its annual report for 2020 that since the SNS came to power in 2012 it "has steadily eroded political rights and civil liberties, putting pressure on independent media, the political opposition, and civil society organizations."
Parliamentary elections were due to be held in spring 2020. In total, 250 members of parliament will be elected for four-year terms from a single nationwide constituency through a closed-list, proportional system. Candidate lists that surpass the five per cent threshold of votes cast are eligible to take part in the allocation of mandates. Lists representing national minorities are exempted from this threshold requirement.
Following an official invitation to observe the upcoming parliamentary elections to be held in spring 2020 and in accordance with its mandate, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) undertook a Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) from 12 to 15 November 2019. The NAM included Alexander Shlyk, Head of the ODIHR Election Department, and Ulvi Akhundlu, ODIHR Election Adviser. The ODIHR NAM was joined by Manuchekhr Salokhudinov, Programme Officer of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. The purpose of the mission was to assess the pre-election environment and preparations for the elections. Based on this assessment, the NAM should recommend whether to deploy an ODIHR election-related activity for the forthcoming parliamentary elections, and if so, what type of activity best meets the identified needs. Meetings were held with officials from state institutions as well as with representatives of political parties, media, civil society, and the resident international community.
The election-related legislation largely remains unchanged since the 2014 parliamentary elections. ODIHR has previously stated that the legislation does not comprehensively cover all fundamental aspects of the electoral process, with certain areas left under-regulated or poorly regulated. Previous ODIHR recommendations pertaining to election administration, campaign regulations and monitoring, media regulations and oversight, dispute resolution and observers have not yet been addressed.
The EU believed there was an urgent need to create more space for genuine cross-party debate, in order to forge a broad pro-European consensus which is vital for the country’s progress on its EU path. Several opposition parties started boycotting the parliament in early 2019. The ruling coalition’s parliamentary practices led to a deterioration of legislative debate and scrutiny, and undermined the parliament’s oversight of the executive.
Weekly anti-government protests started in Belgrade in December 2018 in reaction to an attack on an opposition party leader. The overall peaceful protests, demanding freedom of the media and free and fair elections, grew over time. Several opposition parties announced their intention to boycott parliamentary elections, unless demands for free and fair elections are met. Serbia needs to fully address all recommendations on the elections, identified by international observers, as a matter of priority.
Serbia has not made sufficient use of the interval between elections to address persistent shortcomings. These include the lack of transparency of party and campaign financing, the blurred distinction between party and state activities, and the unbalanced media coverage. Serbia still needs to address all priority recommendations of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE/ODIHR).
Almost all of the OSCE/ODIHR recommendations stemming from the previous elections had yet to be addressed. This includes the need for a comprehensive and inclusive review of the legal framework on elections, in order to regulate all essential aspects and address gaps and loopholes. Independent regulatory bodies need to be empowered to exercise their monitoring and oversight role proactively and effectively. The unbalanced media coverage reported during previous elections needs to be urgently tackled. These reforms should be undertaken in an inclusive and transparent manner, and as a matter of priority ahead of the next elections.
In reaction to the anti-government protests, the ruling coalition raised the possibility of early parliamentary elections. This de facto pre-election mode deepened the political divide rather than contributing to cross-party consensus.
As Serbia's dominant politician, President Aleksandar Vucic seems to be omnipresent and involved in everything, the be-all and end-all of political life in the Balkan country. The ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) campaigned under the slogan "Aleksandar Vucic — for our children." The president is personally spearheading the party's effort when he is not saturating the news cycle in his official role. His opponents also focus on him when trying to whip up the ever-shrinking liberal public in Serbia into political action. Serbs cast ballots in a parliamentary election that was expected to tighten the grip on power for President Aleksandar Vucic’s ruling party, amid calls for a boycott from an alliance of opposition groups. The June 21 vote is Europe’s first national election since the coronavirus pandemic shuttered most of the continent. Opinion polls showed that Vucic’s center-right conservative Serbian Progressive Party, which has led the Balkan state for the past eight years, was expected to secure nearly 60 percent of the vote. Vucic’s coalition partner, the Socialist Party, was predicted to come in second at around 10 percent. Several right-wing and liberal parties may make it over a 3 percent threshold to enter the 250-seat parliament but were unlikely to provide checks on the ruling party. Some smaller parties were widely believed to be close to the government or controlled by it. Several liberal and right-wing opposition parties under the banner of the Alliance for Serbia called for a boycott, citing what they say is an unfair playing field exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. Before the boycott, the alliance polled around 10 percent.
The projection by Ipsos and CeSID pollsters showed the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) on track to win 62.4 percent of the votes, while the Socialist party - a junior coalition partner in the outgoing government - is seen coming second with 10.7 percent of the votes. The centre-right Serbian Patriotic Alliance led by former water polo player Aleksandar Sapic is seen in third place with 4.1 percent of the votes.
Serbia’s electoral commission adopted a report on 05 July 2020 regarding the final results of the parliamentary elections, according to which president Aleksandar Vucic’s For Our Children party obtained 1,953,998 votes or 60.65% of the 188 seats in parliament. A total of 6,584,376 Serbian citizens were registered for the vote on 21 June and 1 July, 3,221,908 of whom cast their ballots at 8,433 polling stations, for a turnout of around 48.93%. The electoral list “Ivica Dacic -“ Socialist Party of Serbia ”, United Serbia – Dragan Markovic Palma” gained 10.38% and received 32 seats, while “Aleksandar ??apic – Victory for Serbia” got 11 seats (3.83%). Besides, an additional four minority entered parliament as no other party had crossed the threshold.
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