Doc. 8934

22 January 2001

eahserdoc03.2000

Ad hoc Committee on the observation of elections
to the National Assembly of Serbia / Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia

Report

Bureau of the Assembly

Rapporteur: Mr Andreas Gross, Switzerland, Socialist Group

Introduction

1.       An ad hoc committee of the Bureau was set up to observe the elections to the National Assembly of Serbia on 23 December 2000. The Parliamentary Assembly observers carried out their task in close co-operation with the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE/ODIHR).

2.       A delegation from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) also observed the elections. The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe (CLRAE) observed the elections in the municipalities with which it has established, or intends to establish, special relations.

3.       The ad hoc committee of the Bureau was composed of the following members:

Socialist Group (SOC)

Mr Andreas GROSS       Switzerland

Ms Vera SQUARCIALUPI       Italy

Mr Peter WEISS       Slovakia

Liberal, Democratic and Reformers’ Group (LDR)

Mr Claude FREY       Switzerland

Group of the European People’s Party (EPP/CD)

Mr Lars RISE       Norway

Mr Björn von der ESCH       Sweden

Group of the United European Left (UEL)

Mr Doros CHRISTODOULIDES       Cyprus

Secretariat:

John Hartland, Counsellor

David Cupina, Secretary

4.       The ad hoc committee met on Thursday 21 December 2000, the day of the briefing for international observers organised by the OSCE/ODIHR. I was elected rapporteur while Mr von der Esch was elected Head of the Delegation.

5.       In addition to observing the elections, the delegation held talks with a number of prominent figures. A list of these persons is set out in Appendix I.

6.       The Parliamentary Assembly observers were split up into five teams of two, who visited some one hundred polling stations in Serbia proper and Vojvodina. The teams visited the following towns: Belgrade, Novi Sad, Niš and Smederevo.

7.       The ad hoc committee would like to thank the Italian Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Mr Caracciolo di Vietri, for organising an informal meeting with the ambassadors of Council of Europe member states. It would also like to thank the OSCE/ODIHR for its technical assistance and especially its long-term observers for the briefings provided at the various places of deployment.

The election campaign

8.       On 25 October 2000 the President of the National Assembly of Serbia, Mr Dragan Tomić, called early elections on 23 December 2000, following the dissolution of parliament by the President of Serbia, Mr Milan Milutinović. The elections were conducted on the basis of an electoral law passed by the National Assembly of Serbia on 10 October 2000. The members of parliament were to be elected by proportional representation in a single constituency covering the whole of the Republic of Serbia, one of the two entities, together with the Republic of Montenegro, which go to make up the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. 7 parties sought to secure the votes of some 6.5 million voters registered to vote in 8,711 polling stations.

9.       The election campaign was, on the whole, a rather lacklustre affair. There were, however, some fairly serious incidents in southern Serbia on account of the tense situation around the Kosovo security zone and the sporadic fighting between the Yugoslav armed forces and Kosovar Albanian groups.

10.       The media allowed all of the parties to present their election platforms, with slightly more coverage being given to the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS), a coalition of eighteen parties, whose victory was forecast by the polls.

11.       One criticism that must be made of the electoral law is that, setting the minimum percentage of votes at 5% within a single national constituency, it ruled out any political representation of national minorities, which might otherwise have obtained a high score in the regions where they live.

Observation of the elections

12.       Voting proceeded smoothly and in a good atmosphere;  no incidents were reported. Our teams received a warm welcome in all of the polling stations; the presence of foreign observers even seemed to be appreciated not only by members of the election boards but also by voters as they had not had any contact with foreigners for years. There were no police in the immediate vicinity of the polling stations. Indeed, the only problem was the lack of heating in some polling stations, owing to the frequent power cuts which are paralysing the country’s economy. One significant aspect of the elections was that, for the first time, the observers of a local non-governmental organisation, the CeSID (Centre for free and democratic elections) were allowed inside the polling stations to observe the casting and counting of votes, thanks to an accreditation granted by the Election Commission (EOM).

13.       All of the observers, including the CLRAE and OSCE PA observers and the 270 OSCE/ODIHR short-term observers, were impressed by the professionalism and competence of the members of the election committees and by the sense of responsibility shown by the chairs of these committees. The returning officers were very familiar with the procedure prior to, during and after the opening of the polling stations. The OSCE/ODIHR short-term observers recorded any useful information concerning the proper conduct of the elections on special forms which were to be sent to the headquarters of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission.

14.       In order to avoid double voting, voters had to agree to have one finger sprayed with a special ink and which could be detected by means of an ultra-violet lamp. This was the first time this system had been used and voters reacted differently to, and sometimes disputed, the test, which was used systematically, but which was perceived as being contrary to civic dignity. We also noted that family voting was a common practice, mainly for couples who, nevertheless, voted in separate booths.

15.       The Novi Sad team observed the polling in a region inhabited by the Slovak minority. This minority appeared to be very well treated by the Serb authorities. The information for voters, the ballot papers and signs indicating the location of polling stations were also available in four languages (ie in Serb, Hungarian, Slovak and Ruthenian) throughout Vojvodina.

16.       Turnout at the polls seemed to be fairly low. The election campaign, as previously stated, was not conducted with any particular gusto, except by the DOS, and the supporters of some parties clearly took refuge in widespread abstention. We hope that the abstention was not caused by generalised mistrust, or even by ignorance of political questions, concerning the future of the country and its people.

17.       Each polling station was responsible for counting its own votes. The electoral law stipulated that members of the election boards should be representatives of the political parties, thus ensuring mutual verification of the vote counting.

The results of the ballot

18.       The Election Commission of the Republic of Serbia published the final results on 27 December 2000. The figure for the total turnout was 57,72 %. The Electoral Commission reported that 2.39% of the ballot papers were blank or spoiled.

19.       These results make the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) the undisputed winner. The Chair of the Election Commission, M. Andrija Simić, announced that the DOS had secured 64.08% of the votes, which meant that it would have 176 representatives in the new parliament out of a total of 250.

20.       The other political parties which will be represented in the National Assembly are: the Socialist Party of Serbia (13.76% of the votes and 37 seats), the Serb Radical Party (8.59% and 23 seats) and the Party of Serbian Unity (5.33% and 13 seats). On the other hand, four parties did not secure the 5% minimum required under the electoral law in order to be represented in Parliament; the number of votes secured by these parties, in decreasing order, was: the Serb Renewal Movement (3.76%), the Socialist Democratic Party (0.85%), the Serb Social-Democrat Party (0.78%) and the Yugoslav Left (0.38%).

21.       Owing to a number of irregularities in the work of the election boards, the Election Commission annulled the election in 19 polling stations but decided, in view of the economic context, not to re-run the election on the grounds that the final overall results would not be affected. In the Kosovo, Bujanovac and Preševo regions, 56 polling stations could not be opened for security reasons - a very worrying phenomenon - , and, in this case too, the Election Commission refused to hold fresh elections.

22.       Nevertheless, the Electoral Commission was obliged to reverse its original decision and hold fresh elections in the 19 polling stations in question, following a ruling by the Supreme Court of the Republic of Serbia. The elections took place on 10 January 2001 under the same conditions as the elections held on 23 December 2000. The turnout was 23.56%. The Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) secured 66.84% of the votes, the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) 13.56%, the Serb Radical Party (SRS) 7.95% and the Party of Serbian Unity (SSJ) 5.77%. The four other parties obtained less than 5%. The proportion of seats allocated to the parties remains unchanged by the results of the poll. Once the Electoral Commission has officially announced the results, it will be possible to set up the new Parliament of Serbia and appoint a new government.

Conclusions

23.       The electoral law, the exemplary conduct of the election and the clear-cut result of the ballot, signalling a desire for change in the Republic of Serbia, confirm the trend initiated by the election of Mr Koštunica and the social movement of October 2000. They also open up encouraging prospects for the Parliament of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to obtain special guest status with the Parliamentary Assembly and, from a more general standpoint, represent a good start to the country’s process of accession to the Council of Europe.¹

24.       Indeed, the country now seems to have the political will to establish an administrative and legal framework that is in keeping with European standards and principles. The way in which the population voted also demonstrated its wish to draw closer to Europe again after a decade of international isolation and misguided policies. This demonstration of democratic will by the people is very encouraging, but not lead us to underestimate the immense obstacles to stable democracy facing the country.

25.       Finally, the rapporteur wishes to point out that the preliminary conclusions on the elections in the joint declaration set out in Appendix 2 to this document clearly reflect the opinion of the members of the ad hoc committee.

Appendix 1

PROGRAMME

21 – 24 December 2000

THURSDAY 21 DECEMBER

Arrival in Belgrade

Inter-Continental Hotel²

15.00       Meeting with the Speaker of the Council of Citizens, Parliament of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

16.00       Briefings with OSCE/ODIHR

17.30 Meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee

19.30       Cocktail hosted by H.E. Ambassador Caracciolo di Vietri (Hyatt Regency Belgrade)

Friday 22 December

9.00       President of the Republic Election Commission (REC)

10.00       Political party leaderships: SPO, JUL, DSP, SSDP, SPS, DOS

For the teams deployed outside Belgrade

14.00       Departure for areas of deployment

Afternoon       Meeting with OSCE/ODIHR Long-term observers (LTOs) for regional briefing

For the teams deployed in Belgrade

15.00       Meeting with the Director of the Republic Statistics Office

15.30 Briefing with OSCE/ODIHR Long-term observers (LTOs) for regional briefing

Saturday 23 December

Observation of the polling

Sunday 24 December

8.30       Meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee

9.30              Joint de-briefing with the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission (EOM)

11.00       Joint CoE/OSCE press conference

Appendix 2

INTERNATIONAL ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION
REPUBLIC OF SERBIA - FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA


Election to the National Assembly - 23 December 2000

Statement of Preliminary Conclusions

Belgrade, 24 December 2000 - The 23 December 2000 election to the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia marks considerable progress in meeting the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia's commitments as a participating State of the OSCE and an applicant member of the Council of Europe. The election was conducted largely in line with accepted international standards for democratic elections. Fundamental freedoms were respected during the pre-election period. In the course of only three months, many structural flaws of Serbian elections, identified in the 1996 "Gonzales Report", were addressed.

The outgoing National Assembly of Serbia adopted a new election law with a broad political consensus, addressing a number of issues raised previously by international observers. A multiparty election administration implemented the law transparently, impartially and, through regulations, managed to overcome many of the flaws in the legislation inherited from the past.

However, improvements are still required, in particular with regard to the allocation and political party control of elected representatives' mandates. The absence of an intermediate election administration level between the Republic Election Commission (REC) and Polling Station Boards seriously complicated the work of the REC and delayed the announcement of preliminary results. Further, the law should be amended to ensure that those who were unable to vote on 23 December can exercise their right in the future, in particular citizens of Serbia temporarily living outside the republic, disabled people, and soldiers. Moreover, there is a general need to update and correct the voter registers.

The media environment has improved significantly since the September elections, providing a diversity of political views. The legal provisions for free air-time were respected, and political parties were able to present their platforms and freely express their opinions in a variety of media. Nevertheless, outside the free air-time, the State-owned media provided favorable coverage to the DOS Coalition.

For the first time and despite an absence of provisions in the electoral law, the REC accredited domestic non-partisan observer organizations, giving thousands of citizens unimpeded access to observe the electoral process.

In a significant improvement over past elections, polling was conducted in a generally calm atmosphere and remarkably in accordance with the law and regulations. In particular, provisions to prevent fraud were observed rigorously, and voters were able to express their will freely. In another departure from past practices, the vote count was also conducted accurately.

In general, the preparations in Kosovo were marked with uncertainty. The final number of voters and the list of polling stations were determined only five days before election day. The IEOM did not deploy observers to Kosovo.

The 23 December election is an important step forward in Serbia's transition to democracy. The newly elected legislature, and the Government which will be appointed, will be faced with many difficult challenges. This election, combined with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia's return to the OSCE and other international organizations, opens the door for recovery both politically and economically.

The OSCE as a whole - the Parliamentary Assembly, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and other institutions - and the Council of Europe with its own institutions are prepared to work with the legislatures, the Governments and civic society of Yugoslavia to address the remaining challenges.

The International Election Observation Mission (IEOM) for the 23 December 2000 election to the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia is a joint effort of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe - including the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE ODIHR) and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe.

Mr. Adrian Severin, President of the OSCE PA and Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the election in Serbia leads the OSCE Election Observation Mission. Mr. Björn von der Esch leads the Council of Europe delegation. Mr. Nikolai Vulchanov heads the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission.

Appendix 3

INTERNATIONAL ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION

PRESS RELEASE

PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION IN SERBIA MARKS SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS

BELGRADE, 24 December 2000 – The 23 December 2000 parliamentary election in Serbia marked significant progress and was conducted largely in line with accepted international standards for democratic elections, concluded the International Election Observation Mission in Belgrade. "This election is an important step forward in Serbia's transition to democracy. In contrast to previous elections, fundamental freedoms were respected during the pre-election period", said Adrian Severin, President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and OSCE Special Representative for the Serbian election, and Andreas Gross, Rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. "The newly elected legislature and the next Government will be faced with many difficult challenges. This election, together with Yugoslavia's return to the OSCE and other international organizations, opens the door for recovery both politically and economically." A multi-party election administration implemented the newly adopted law transparently, impartially and, through regulations, managed to overcome many of the flaws in the legislation inherited from the past, although some improvements are still required. The media environment has improved significantly since the last elections, providing a diversity of political views, although outside the free air-time, the State-owned media provided favourable coverage to the DOS coalition. For the first time, domestic non-partisan observer organizations were accredited, giving thousands of citizens of Serbia unimpeded access to observe the electoral process. In another departure from previous elections, the will of voters was respected during the polling on election day and the vote count. MISSION INFORMATION The International Election Observation Mission for the parliamentary election in Serbia is a joint effort of the OSCE - including the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe. Mr. Adrian Severin, President of the OSCE PA and Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the election in Serbia leads the OSCE Election Observation Mission. Mr. Björn von der Esch leads the delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Mr. Nikolai Vulchanov heads the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission. For further information, please contact: • Nikolai Vulchanov, Head of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission in Belgrade (+381 11 311 3882); • Jens-Hagen Eschenbaecher, OSCE/ODIHR Public Affairs Officer (+48 603 683 122); • Tina Schon, Research Coordinator of the OSCE PA (+ 45 33 37 80 40), or Alexander Staun, Adviser to the Secretary General of the OSCE PA (+45 40 30 49 85); • John Hartland, Counselor of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly (+33 388 41 21 22).

¹ See Mr Frey’s report “Request for special guest status with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe by the Federal Parliament of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Draft opinion for the attention of the Bureau of the Assembly” (As/Pol (2001) 01).

² Hotel Inter-Continental Beograd

Vladimira Popovica 10,11070 Belgrade, Yugoslavia

tel: + 381 11 311 3333

fax: + 381 11 311 1402

e-mail: [email protected]