Presidential Election, 20 January and 3 February 2008

In response to an invitation to observe the 20 January presidential election in Serbia, ODIHR) deployed a limited election observation mission to Belgrade on 4 January. For the second round on 3 February, the mission was joined by a delegation ffrom the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Headed by Nikolai Vulchanov of Bulgaria, the mission consisted of nine international experts based in Belgrade and 12 long-term observers from 18 OSCE participating States deployed throughout the country.

In view of past findings on election-day proceedings in Serbia, ODIHR did not consider the deployment of short-term observers to be necessary and did not undertake systematic or comprehensive observation of election-day proceedings.

According to the mission's final report: "The 20 January 2008 presidential election was conducted mostly in line with OSCE commitments for democratic elections. The election was the first presidential election held after the adoption of a new Constitution in October 2006. The process was transparent and offered voters a genuine choice between distinct political perspectives. Turnouts were high for both the first and second round, over 60 and 68 per cent respectively, demonstrating a significant level of public interest and participation in the democratic process."