Widespread photographing of ballot papers, suspected pressure on voters and cases of voting without valid identification or on behalf of others marked election day in Serbia, according to CRTA’s observation mission.
At the press conference, CRTA programme director Raša Nedeljkov warned that scrutiny would remain crucial as the process moved to counting votes and reporting results.
Voters were seen photographing ballot papers at half of polling stations across Serbia and 80% of those in Belgrade, CRTA programme director Raša Nedeljkov said, warning of an unprecedented scale of practices that could be linked to pressure on voters.
Nedeljkov said observers could not establish whether voters were photographing their ballots voluntarily or under pressure. However, given the intimidation documented in the months and years before election day, CRTA believed the practice was closely linked to voters being coerced.
Voting without valid identification was recorded at 8% of polling stations, while people voting on behalf of others were observed at 13%. Observers also reported cases of vote buying, multiple voting and polling board members directly violating ballot secrecy.
Unauthorised individuals were present at polling stations, particularly during the first part of the day, further undermining the secrecy of the vote. Nedeljkov also noted that polling board members representing opposition lists had identified and intervened to prevent irregularities, sometimes leading to confrontations.
The findings cover voting up to 20:00. Nedeljkov stressed that observers would continue monitoring the count, the processing of results and their submission to local electoral commissions and the Republic Electoral Commission.
He warned that counting could be slow, citing earlier instances in which the work of polling boards had been obstructed.
