COPENHAGEN, 24 March 2022 – Some 80 observers from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly will deploy next week to Serbia to observe the 3 April Presidential and early Parliamentary Elections.

Kyriakos Hadjiyianni, Special Co-ordinator, and Bryndis Haraldsdottir, Head of the OSCE PA delegationAs on previous occasions, the OSCE PA observation delegation will work closely with partners from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) as well as with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the European Parliament (EP).

OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, has appointed OSCE PA Member Kyriakos Hadjiyianni (Cyprus) as Special Co-ordinator of the OSCE short term observers, while Bryndis Haraldsdottir (Iceland) will lead the OSCE PA delegation upon appointment of President Margareta Cederfelt.

“Elections are always a crucial moment in the democratic life of a country” said Special Co-ordinator Hadjiyianni, “I am honored to put my experience at the service of this election observation mission, and I am confident that the perspective parliamentarians will provide alongside the indispensable work of ODIHR election experts and observers will allow us to provide a comprehensive and impartial report on these elections, for the benefit of Serbian people and authorities”.

“I hope that next week's elections will be an opportunity for Serbia to open a political phase marked by more unity and less polarization” noted Head of Delegation Haraldsdottir. “I am encouraged to see that many observers will be deployed across the country and it will be a privilege to work with them in this mission”.

The mission is assessing the elections against democratic commitments contained in the OSCE’s 1990 Copenhagen Document. As per usual practice, ahead of the election day, observers will be comprehensively briefed by representatives of the election administration, civil society, media as well as political parties, on 1 and 2 April.

The leaders of the mission will deliver the post-election statement of preliminary findings and conclusions, together with partner organizations at a press conference in Belgrade on the afternoon of 4 April, which will be streamed live on the OSCE PA website, www.oscepa.org.

Press releases and statements from previous OSCE PA Election Observation Missions can be accessed here.