Dimitrijevic and Cumberland: Joint projects lead to greater trust of all election participants and the public in the election process and more efficient election administration

The officials expressed satisfaction that the good cooperation between the REC and IFES continues, and assessed that through the implementation of joint projects it is possible to increase the level of trust of the public and all election participants in the election process itself, as well as to increase the efficiency of the election administration in Serbia.

The REC Chairperson expressed his satisfaction that the Embassy of the United Kingdom in Serbia would provide support for the continued cooperation between the REC and IFES and especially thanked Nermin Nisic, IFES Director for Serbia, for the successful cooperation and support so far.

Dimitrijevic emphasised that the REC wants IFES, in addition to ODIHR, to be its long-term partner, because as a global organisation that cooperates with election commissions, it contributes to the construction of an electoral environment that contributes to the improvement and development of the electoral system in Serbia. He said that the REC priorities in the coming period are the training of election administration bodies, especially polling boards, education and information of voters, as well as the establishment of a management system in the REC in such a way that the administration can adequately respond to the priorities. Dimitrijevic also added that the REC would appreciate IFES' support for these processes and focused special attention in the conversation to the results achieved by the introduction of digitalisation and new digital platforms for training election administration bodies and informing and educating the voters, created using the most modern adult learning methods.

In the conversation with the REC Chairperson, IFES Director for Europe and Eurasia Anya Cumberland stressed that this organisation continues to provide support for improving electoral integrity in the countries of the region, and in this regard Serbia is one of the most important, and cooperation with the REC is on the list of the organisation’s priorities. She expressed satisfaction that IFES is entering a new phase of electoral support in Serbia and welcomed the modernisation of the processes in the REC in accordance with the best international practices, assessing that the remote training of election administration bodies represents a great achievement. She also welcomed the establishment of a sector within the National Assembly Service to provide expert support to the REC.

The officials assessed that IFES and the REC should work on improving these processes in the coming period, as well as on digitalisation and the introduction of artificial intelligence, and projects to connect with local electoral commissions and polling boards.

The meeting was also attended by REC Deputy Secretary Dragana Odovic and IFES Director for Serbia Nermin Nisic.