Due to the incumbents’ persistent and systematic abuse of institutions and media to gain an unfair advantage, the latest Serbian parliamentary and local elections fell “below the expected standards for an EU candidate country”, say MEPs.

In a resolution adopted on Thursday by 461 votes in favour, 53 against and 43 abstentions, Parliament points out that, although smoothly conducted, the election held on 17 December 2023 was marked by numerous procedural deficiencies. Among these, it points to the inconsistent application of safeguards during voting and counting, frequent instances of overcrowding, breaches in secrecy of the vote, and numerous instances of group voting.

Reminding the Serbian authorities that “the proper functioning of Serbia’s democratic institutions is at the core of Serbia’s EU accession process”, MEPs call for an independent investigation by respected international legal experts and institutions into the parliamentary, provincial and local elections’…