ODIHR Opens Observer Mission in Belgrade for October 25 Snap Parliamentary Elections

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) opened today in Belgrade the observer mission for Serbia’s snap parliamentary elections, scheduled for October 25. The mission was opened at the invitation of the competent Serbian institutions and on the basis of the findings of the needs assessment mission that ODIHR conducted in July 2026.

The mission is headed by Owen Murphy, with a core team of 14 international experts. According to the official announcement, from September 25, 30 long-term observers will be deployed across the country, while ODIHR plans to request 300 short-term observers, who will join the mission a few days before election day. The experts and observers come from 24 OSCE participating states.

“Elections are a process, not just a single day,” Murphy declared at the mission’s opening, stressing that observation begins long before voters go to the ballot boxes and that the mission’s presence across Serbia for several weeks enables conversations with all stakeholders and the monitoring of all developments.

The mission will follow all key aspects of the electoral process: the pre-election campaign, including on social networks; campaign financing; the work of the election administration at national, regional and local level; electoral legislation; institutional mechanisms against disinformation; media coverage; and the resolution of electoral disputes. Observers will also assess the implementation of ODIHR’s previous recommendations.

About two weeks before the elections, ODIHR will publish an interim report; preliminary conclusions will be presented at a press conference one day after the elections, while the final report with the assessment of the entire process will come out several months later. On election day, delegations of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament will join the mission. ODIHR has observed 20 previous elections in Serbia, most recently in 2024.

Source: Danas