Serbian Election Watchdog Warns of Intimidation, Media Bias Ahead of Vote

Ahead of Serbia’s parliamentary election on October 25, the CRTA watchdog reported a climate of intimidation, violence and illegal surveillance targeting opposition figures. It said pro-government media propagated misleading stories about alleged opposition plots and warned of chaos on election day, publishing nearly 1,500 such articles. The report criticized the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for limiting polling stations abroad, potentially disenfranchising about 22,000 citizens, and condemned a new rule forcing overseas voters to follow Serbian Central European Time, which could require voting at night.

State broadcaster RTS gave opposition parties only 15% of political airtime, while the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media and the Anti-Corruption Agency were accused of failing to enforce the law. CRTA also noted that one-third of campaign activities by the ruling Aleksandar Vucic - United Serbia list involved suspected violations such as signature forgery and misuse of public resources.