Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights - Elections

Following an invitation from the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights has deployed a Limited Election Observation Mission (LEOM) to Serbia to observe the early parliamentary elections scheduled for 11 May 2008.

President Boris Tadic dissolved the Parliament on 13 March, acting upon a proposal from the Government dated 10 March 2008, and called early parliamentary elections to take place simultaneously with local elections on 11 May.

The OSCE/ODIHR LEOM will only observe the parliamentary elections; however, it will follow aspects of the provincial and local elections held simultaneously to the extent that their conduct impacts on the parliamentary elections.

Long-term observation

The LEOM, headed by Mr Nikolai Vulchanov of Bulgaria, consists of ten international experts based in Belgrade. The OSCE/ODIHR has requested the OSCE participating States to second 24 long-term observers to be deployed across the country.

The mission will assess the electoral process in terms of its compliance with OSCE commitments for democratic elections, other international standards, and national legislation. It will focus on the election campaign, the legislative framework and its implementation, the media situation, the performance of the election administration and relevant government bodies, and the resolution of election-related disputes.

In view of the OSCE/ODIHR's past findings, the presence of short-term observers is not considered necessary. The LEOM does not intend to carry out systematic or comprehensive observation of the voting, counting, and tabulation procedures on election day, but observers will visit several polling stations across the country to follow the procedures.

The OSCE/ODIHR will issue a final report approximately two months after the completion of the election process.

The LEOM and the OSCE Mission to Serbia operate separately under their specific mandates.