Human Rights Violations During the 17 December 2023 Elections

The elections held on Sunday cannot be qualified as fair or free where a number of citizens are concerned, wherefore they cannot reflect the genuine electoral will of Serbia’s citizens, undermining the legitimacy of institutions that will be formed based on these election results and of any decisions they take. The elections were totally delegitimised by grave irregularities, numerous abuses, breaches of election rights,
rules and procedures, election controllers’ reports and materials leaked before and on election day, problems with election registers, and the tickets endorsed by the Belgrade City Election Commission despite evidence that at least half (7 out of 14) them were based on forged voter support statements.

International observers within the joint OSCE/ODIHR mission, including representatives of the European Parliament and the Council of Europe also pointed out the irregularities during the election campaign, including misuse of public resources and national broadcasters, the absolute domination of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić in the media, and attacks on journalists and civil society organisations. On
election day, they witnessed inadmissible group voting, pressures on voters, vote-buying, ballot box stuffing, and examples of so-called phantom voters.

Although elections are a mechanism by which the citizens in a democracy transfer their sovereignty to their elected representatives in the national and local parliaments, the only conclusion one may draw from this election process characterised by the enumerated irregularities is that Serbia’s citizens have been stripped of their civic sovereignty. In such a situation, the institutions’ failure to respond to violations and abuses of rights and procedures leads to the devastating conclusion that the citizens have no option but to fend for themselves and protect their rights and build institutions. It thus comes as no surprise that the citizens have been rallying in the streets and exercising their political rights to the freedoms of assembly and freedom of expression, expressing their dissatisfaction with the electoral process and, as holders of sovereignty, insisting that the Serbian Constitution and laws apply to everyone and must be respected.

We believe that the citizens’ electoral will was not respected at the 17 December elections and that the relevant institutions must review the possibility of annulling the elections and repeating them in circumstances in which all the enumerated irregularities will be eliminated. That is the only way Serbia’s institutions will demonstrate that they respect the principle of the rule of law and the electoral will of Serbia’s citizens.

 

Association of Women Sandglass

Astra

Atina NGO

Autonomous Women’s Centre

Belgrade Centre for Human Rights

Belgrade Centre for Security Policy

Centre for Contemporary Politics

Centre for Judicial Research CEPRIS

Center for Dignified Work

Center for Cultural Decontamination CZKD

Civic Initiatives

CRTA

European Movement in Serbia

FemPlatz

Mental Disability Rights Initiative MDRI-S

Novi optimizam

PIN – Psychosocial Innovation Network

SOS Women’s Center

Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation

Youth Initiative for Human Rights

SOS Women’s Center

Association Krokodil