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OSCE Mission to Yugoslavia assessed municipal by-elections of 4 November in Serbia
BELGRADE 5 November 2001
BELGRADE, 5 November 2001 (OSCE) - The OSCE Mission to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) carried out an assessment of the municipal by-elections that were held in 18 municipalities in Serbia on Sunday, 4 November.
The assessment, which was not a standard election observation undertaken by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), was undertaken under the Mission's mandate to monitor the proper functioning and development of democratic institutions, processes and mechanisms in Yugoslavia. It included advance visits to all municipalities and meetings with electoral officials and political parties. On election day, 13 OSCE Election Assessment Teams visited polling stations in every municipality and attended selected counts of votes.
"We are satisfied with the fact that these elections took place in a calm atmosphere with voters being allowed to express their will freely", said Stefano Sannino, Head of the OSCE Mission to the FRY.
The by-elections were held to elect 18 new municipal assemblies where the Ministry of Justice and Local Self-Government suspended the authority of the previous assemblies who had taken office following the elections of 24 September 2000. The assemblies were suspended under provisions of the 1999 Local Self-Government Act on the grounds that they had either failed to be constituted or to function properly, with their authority then being transferred to interim municipal councils whose members were appointed centrally.
"We are also pleased that by holding these elections, it was possible to resolve in a democratic way the deadlock in those municipalities where previously elected municipal administrations were unable to operate", Mr. Sannino said.
Given the lack of a clear legal framework, some technical procedural failures appeared. In fact, the applicable laws for the election of municipal assemblies - the 1999 Law on Local Self-Government and the 2000 Law on the Election of Members of Parliament - are contradictory and somewhat vague, especially with regard to some aspects of the candidate registration and voting procedures to be followed. Municipal Election Commissions (MECs) performed their tasks professionally and seemed to enjoy the confidence of all participants in the by-elections. However, the lack of a central electoral authority to guide the MECs resulted in an uneven application of the election legislation.
Therefore, the OSCE Mission to the FRY strongly recommends that municipal election legislation be reviewed as soon as possible and that a central electoral body, preferably the Republican Election Commission, is made responsible for providing guidance to MECs on electoral procedures in a co-ordinated manner.
The OSCE Mission gratefully acknowledges the support to the assessment that was provided by a number of Embassies of OSCE participating States in Belgrade and experts from the OSCE/ODIHR.
The assessment, which was not a standard election observation undertaken by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), was undertaken under the Mission's mandate to monitor the proper functioning and development of democratic institutions, processes and mechanisms in Yugoslavia. It included advance visits to all municipalities and meetings with electoral officials and political parties. On election day, 13 OSCE Election Assessment Teams visited polling stations in every municipality and attended selected counts of votes.
"We are satisfied with the fact that these elections took place in a calm atmosphere with voters being allowed to express their will freely", said Stefano Sannino, Head of the OSCE Mission to the FRY.
The by-elections were held to elect 18 new municipal assemblies where the Ministry of Justice and Local Self-Government suspended the authority of the previous assemblies who had taken office following the elections of 24 September 2000. The assemblies were suspended under provisions of the 1999 Local Self-Government Act on the grounds that they had either failed to be constituted or to function properly, with their authority then being transferred to interim municipal councils whose members were appointed centrally.
"We are also pleased that by holding these elections, it was possible to resolve in a democratic way the deadlock in those municipalities where previously elected municipal administrations were unable to operate", Mr. Sannino said.
Given the lack of a clear legal framework, some technical procedural failures appeared. In fact, the applicable laws for the election of municipal assemblies - the 1999 Law on Local Self-Government and the 2000 Law on the Election of Members of Parliament - are contradictory and somewhat vague, especially with regard to some aspects of the candidate registration and voting procedures to be followed. Municipal Election Commissions (MECs) performed their tasks professionally and seemed to enjoy the confidence of all participants in the by-elections. However, the lack of a central electoral authority to guide the MECs resulted in an uneven application of the election legislation.
Therefore, the OSCE Mission to the FRY strongly recommends that municipal election legislation be reviewed as soon as possible and that a central electoral body, preferably the Republican Election Commission, is made responsible for providing guidance to MECs on electoral procedures in a co-ordinated manner.
The OSCE Mission gratefully acknowledges the support to the assessment that was provided by a number of Embassies of OSCE participating States in Belgrade and experts from the OSCE/ODIHR.