Import and export of voters

Electoral manipulations in Serbia are becoming more and more creative, but also more visible. According to the findings of domestic and international observation missions, on December 17, the foundations of fair and free elections finally and completely collapsed. Incidents such as the "importation" of voters during the elections, where there was a change of residence in order to vote, revealed new limits that the government is willing to cross in order to ensure victory.

The report of the ODIHR election observation mission covers a wide range of aspects of the electoral process, including election administration, voter registration, candidacy, election campaigning, campaign financing, the media and the post-election period. However, what particularly attracts attention is the problem of perceived voter migration in order to secure a larger number of voters for the ruling parties.

photo: marko čoković / tanjug

VOTER IMMIGRATION

The report specifically mentions problems with the voter list, which contains numerous entries of deceased persons and mentions the existence of registration of new voters in connection with local elections. It also states that there is a lack of a comprehensive response from the competent authorities to these accusations, along with limited mechanisms for reviewing the voter list, as well as a lack of detailed data on changes in permanent and temporary voter registration.

Also, CRTA's findings suggest qualitative and quantitative evidence of organized voter migration before the December 17 election, anomalies in the voter list, voter transport and supervised voting, indicating a potential impact on election results. This supports allegations of possible manipulation of voter lists and transfer of voters to influence election outcomes.

In its reports, CRTA presented numerous examples that suggest organized voter migration: at 14 percent of polling stations in Belgrade, CRTA observers observed examples of organized voter transport, supervised voting and possible voter identity manipulation, especially in municipalities such as Čukarica, Novi Beograd, Vračar, Voždovac and Zemun. Their analyzes showed that voters came in an organized manner from various parts of Serbia, as well as from abroad, including Pančevo, Valjevo, Čačak, Arandjelovac, Smederevo, Vršac, Novi Sad, as well as from Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. It was also noted that some polling stations in Belgrade served as destinations for these organized voter migrations, where the ruling party achieved a significant increase in the number of votes compared to the previous elections.

Also, CRTA, based on the analysis of rare names on the voter list, identified about twelve thousand new voters in Belgrade, which indicates a potential deliberate migration of voters. For example, in the polling stations with the largest number of unique names, SNS had fewer votes in the last elections.

VOTER EMIGRATION

The dynamics of organizing early elections in the last decade, in which we rarely had a year without elections, already speaks of the government's intention not to allow democratic election processes and the practice of informed voting based on the previous results of the government, the plans of the opposition and the visibility of all this due to the constant suppression of media freedoms . However, in the last few months we have noticed a new tactic - the import of voters who do not live in the places where they voted - and now the latest tactic is crystallizing - the export of voters, i.e. organization of elections at a time when the majority of voters are not at their place of residence.

As a reminder, due to procedural irregularities, the election results were annulled in 35 polling stations, which led to a repeat vote on December 30. This decision on repeated voting just before the New Year could already be predicted because the elections were scheduled for the second half of December, and it certainly affected the availability and willingness of voters to participate. Scheduling the election at a time when many citizens likely had other plans or commitments, such as preparations for the holidays, further reduced turnout for repeat voting. This schedule already suggested a potential strategy to influence the election outcome through the manipulation of voting dates.

Two problematic terms are now being mentioned in the public eye, both of which indicate a potential intent to exploit this voter unavailability. The first date is the date of the repeated elections in Belgrade - April 28, after the beginning of the children's spring vacation, and on the eve of the May Day and Easter holidays. The second date that is mentioned, or rather the term, is related to regular local elections throughout Serbia, and the possibility that it "falls" in the middle of summer, by mid-July of this year, is mentioned.

When planning elections, in a democratic country, the period immediately before or during the most important national and religious holidays or during the summer is usually avoided, in order to allow for greater voter participation.

Scheduling elections during these periods has a negative impact on the electoral process, i.e. reduces the right of voters to participate in elections due to travel, as well as rest from usual activities, including monitoring the socio-political situation and going to the polls. This can lead to reduced turnout, especially among those who are close to apathetic towards political events. If the government schedules elections at this time, it will be an attempt to manipulate the election outcome.

Strategies such as the "import" and "export" of voters, which are used to manipulate the election results in Serbia, show deep problems in the electoral process. These practices are definitely an attempt to influence fair and free elections.

Those strategies and tactics should be recognized, but one should not hope too much that the government will stop tailoring them. No authoritarian government has fallen by organizing free elections. It is up to the citizens of this country, civil society, and the opposition to think and work beyond these tactics. Resilience and resistance are the only two things that will help us return the state to the citizens, and build the system so that no subsequent government can abuse it.