The European Parliament is expected to seek independent international investigations into irregularities reported during the elections in Serbia, through a separate resolution. It is expected to be voted on Thursday, February 8, during a plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
In the draft text of the resolution agreed upon by several political groups in the European Parliament, for which the vote will take place, regret is expressed over the fact that Serbia has not ensured the conduct of elections according to international standards and norms. Regret is also expressed for the Serbian authorities’ refusal to acknowledge irregularities in the elections.
Serbia held local, parliamentary, and regional elections on December 17, 2023.
“We call for independent investigations by experts and respected international institutions into irregularities in parliamentary, regional, and local elections, with special attention to the elections for the Belgrade City Assembly,” the draft resolution states.
“We call on the European Commission to consider sending a mission of experts to Serbia to assess the situation and developments following the recent elections and to make efforts to facilitate a social dialogue, which would lead to the restoration of trust in institutions,” the draft resolution emphasizes.
According to the text of the proposed resolution, the European Parliament has condemned the lack of political pluralism during the electoral process, the favoritism towards the ruling party, the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), by the media during the campaign, numerous disinformation campaigns, in which, according to the drafters of this text, structures from Russia were involved alongside pro-government media in Serbia. The European Parliament also condemned threats against non-governmental organizations and independent journalists.
Among the irregularities in the elections in Serbia, the European Parliament mentioned the voting of citizens from other countries, especially from Bosnia and Herzegovina for local elections, the organized behavior of voters in polling stations by the ruling party, the removal of voters from the registry in some cases, illegal voter coercion, and other forms of violations of the principles of free elections.
Members of the European Parliament believe that a country like Serbia, which is a candidate for EU membership, should respect basic democratic standards.
The draft resolution also condemns the excessive use of police forces in Serbia against protesters during protests against irregularities in the elections.
Additionally, Members of the European Parliament condemn verbal attacks by government representatives in Serbia against EU observers, as well as claims that EU countries were involved in organizing post-election protests. Criticism has also been directed at the anti-EU rhetoric spread in Serbia by media close to the ruling party. The text mentions that the Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabić, publicly thanked Russian services for information about protests organized by the opposition in Serbia.
The European Parliament has requested that the European Commission also consider suspending EU funds for Serbia if it is proven that Serbian authorities were directly involved in manipulating election results.
“We express regret for the lack of vocal criticism from the European Commission, especially from the enlargement commissioner, regarding a series of doubts about election fraud in Serbia, and we invite the Commission to address these issues that have led to doubts without delay,” the text said.
The European Parliament also called for Serbia’s accession negotiations with the EU to be linked to reforms, including addressing election-related issues. Without these, the text stated, negotiations should not continue.
Opposition parties in Serbia have accused the government of manipulating the electoral process and have organized protests following the December 17 elections. Concerns have been expressed by the EU regarding reports of irregularities. However, the European Parliament has been more critical, also calling for measures, having sent observers to the December elections in Serbia. Debates on these elections have also taken place in the European Parliament, and now a resolution is expected to be adopted. The Serbian Government has dismissed criticisms from European MPs and has made personal accusations against deputies who have spoken out about irregularities in the elections.
