Parliamentary and Early Presidential Elections, 6 and 20 May 2012

Following a invitation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to observe the May 2012 parliamentary and early presidential elections and in accordance with its mandate, ODIHR deployed a Limited Election Observation Mission for these elections.

Long-term Observation

The OSCE/ODIHR LEOM, headed by Corien Jonker, consists of 10 international experts based in Belgrade. In addition, 12 long-term observers will be deployed throughout the country from 10 April 2012.

The OSCE/ODIHR EOM will assess the parliamentary and early presidential elections for their compliance with OSCE commitments and other international standards for democratic elections, as well as with domestic legislation. Observers will closely monitor candidate registration, campaign activities, the work of the election administration and relevant governmental bodies, election-related legislation and its implementation, the media environment, participation of national minorities, and the resolution of election-related disputes.

Election Day

While the mission would visit a limited number of polling stations on election day, systematic observation of voting, counting or tabulation of results on election day is not envisaged.

The day after the elections, ODIHR, together with its parliamentary partners, will issue a statement of preliminary findings and conclusions at a press conference. A final report on the observation of the entire electoral process will be issued approximately eight weeks after the end of the observation mission.

Co-operation with Other Partners

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe are planning to deploy observer delegations for these elections.

Previous elections

The OSCE/ODIHR has observed 11 elections in Serbia since 1997, including the most recent 2008 parliamentary and presidential elections.