OSCE Mission, EC Delegation congratulate Serbia on orderly elections, call for swift implementation of people's choice for further democratic reforms
(OSCE/Milan Obradovic)Polling station board members check for a voter's name during Serbian parliamentary elections, in Belgrade 21 January 2007. (OSCE/Milan Obradovic) Photo details
BELGRADE, 25 January 2007 - The OSCE Mission and the Delegation of the European Commission (EC) to Serbia congratulated today the people, political parties and authorities in Serbia on an orderly conduct of Sunday's elections and issued the following joint statement:
"High participation in the elections is a credit to the people of Serbia and a demonstration of their desire to participate in the democratic process. We applaud the clear choice made by the Serbian people in favour of continued democratic reforms and confirmed European integration. We look forward to reform-oriented forces to form speedily a government committed to make rapid progress towards the EU and prepared to tackle the challenges ahead constructively.
Last year, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the Council of Europe Venice Commission made several recommendations to further improve Serbian electoral legislation, including repealing of provisions that allow parties and coalitions to arbitrarily choose which candidates from their lists become members of Parliament. Pending legislative changes to address the above-mentioned shortcomings, one issue that can be addressed immediately is respecting adequate representation of women MPs in the Parliament. We strongly encourage the parliamentary parties to keep the representation of women at least as high as in the nomination lists.
We also strongly encourage the parliamentary parties to refrain from the practice of the so-called 'blank resignations' by the MPs. This practice undermines democratic principles, including the 1990 Copenhagen Document of the OSCE, to which Serbia is a signatory. The OSCE Document states that all elected MPs should be duly installed in office and be permitted to remain in office until their term expires.
The OSCE Mission and the EC stand ready to assist the newly elected Parliament in implementing these and other recommendations, to further reinforce the democratization of Serbia and enhance its integration processes."
"High participation in the elections is a credit to the people of Serbia and a demonstration of their desire to participate in the democratic process. We applaud the clear choice made by the Serbian people in favour of continued democratic reforms and confirmed European integration. We look forward to reform-oriented forces to form speedily a government committed to make rapid progress towards the EU and prepared to tackle the challenges ahead constructively.
Last year, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the Council of Europe Venice Commission made several recommendations to further improve Serbian electoral legislation, including repealing of provisions that allow parties and coalitions to arbitrarily choose which candidates from their lists become members of Parliament. Pending legislative changes to address the above-mentioned shortcomings, one issue that can be addressed immediately is respecting adequate representation of women MPs in the Parliament. We strongly encourage the parliamentary parties to keep the representation of women at least as high as in the nomination lists.
We also strongly encourage the parliamentary parties to refrain from the practice of the so-called 'blank resignations' by the MPs. This practice undermines democratic principles, including the 1990 Copenhagen Document of the OSCE, to which Serbia is a signatory. The OSCE Document states that all elected MPs should be duly installed in office and be permitted to remain in office until their term expires.
The OSCE Mission and the EC stand ready to assist the newly elected Parliament in implementing these and other recommendations, to further reinforce the democratization of Serbia and enhance its integration processes."