Republic Electoral Commission Chairperson Meets with Council of Europe Congress of Local and Regional Authorities Delegation

The members of the delegation of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities expressed interest in the competences and activities of the Republic Electoral Commission in relation to the current local elections, the ways in which the Republic Electoral Commission cooperates with local self-government units and local electoral commissions, as well as some technical aspects of the implementation of the elections (providing the necessary financial resources, storing election materials, etc.).

Vladimir Dimitrijevic informed the members of the Council of Europe delegation that the Republic Electoral Commission, although it does not have jurisdiction over the conduct of local elections under the Law on Local Elections, is cooperating with local administrative bodies and local electoral commissions on the implementation of training for work in polling stations to conduct voting in the upcoming elections, as well as receiving and processing applications from foreign observers. He said that the Republic of Serbia is currently working on the implementation of ODIHR recommendations for the improvement of election procedures and expressed the expectation that amendments to the election laws will address several of the recommendations that should significantly improve the work of the election administration, primarily through the introduction of mandatory training for work in mid- and lower-level election administration.

Vladimir Dimitrijevic thanked the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities for accepting the invitation to observe the local elections and emphasised that the report of the Congress delegation on the monitoring of these elections will be of exceptional importance for further work on improving the electoral conditions in the Republic of Serbia.