Members of the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Thursday at a session in Strasbourg demanding an international investigation into alleged irregularities during the December elections in Serbia, as well as the suspension of European funds, if it is proven that the authorities directly participated in voter fraud.
The EP calls on the European Commission to immediately start a review of the funds given to the Government of Serbia under the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance III (IPA III) and other financial instruments and to suspend the funding if the Serbian authorities are not ready to implement key recommendations related to the elections or if an international investigation shows that was directly involved in electoral fraud.
The European Parliament points out that certain allegations, including those about organized voter migration at the local level, come from the report of the OSCE for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and adds that it supports the rapid dispatch of an ad hoc fact-finding mission to Serbia, with the participation of the EP .
The European Parliament emphasizes that “negotiations with Serbia can only continue when the country makes significant progress in reforms, but also fully implements the recommendations of the OSCE and the Venice Commission on election conditions.”
It is estimated that the parliamentary and local elections in Serbia on December 17 “departed from international standards and Serbia’s commitment to free and fair elections due to the persistent and systematic abuse of institutions and the media by officials in order to gain an unfair and unjustified advantage.”
“Serbia, as a candidate country for EU membership, lacks sufficiently applied basic democratic standards of the EU and international standards. The Serbian authorities are called upon to ensure sufficient democratic guarantees for the holding of the next regular local elections in 2024, as well as future elections,” the resolution reads. EP.
461 representatives voted for the resolution of the European Parliament on the situation in Serbia after the elections, 53 were against and 43 abstained.
Serbia was in a post-election crisis for days after the election, and the opposition coalition “Serbia against violence” was the first to warn about irregularities in the election process, which accused the ruling party of election engineering, voter migration and bringing voters from Republika Srpska and cities in Serbia where they were not. local elections, violated the electoral will in Belgrade.
Abuses and irregularities were also pointed out by international observers, and after the elections, protests began in Belgrade demanding the annulment and re-run of the elections, Fena news agency reports.
