Page 145 - Conducting Elections during COVID-19

SERBIA 127

each and every step of the electoral process
and a prescription for matching safety measures
within the framework of the electoral legislative
framework of Serbia. Time and financial
constraints were also borne in mind while
developing the framework of the COVID-19 safe
mechanism for elections.

The exercise also identified the main concerns
perceived by Serbians in going to the polls during
the public health crisis and what measures would
make them feel confident as well as safe to
participate in the electoral process.
RIK Outreach: Rapid

Response

RIK’s challenge was in communicating the
preventive measures to be followed on Election
Day to voters, poll workers, observers and
other stakeholders. In a short span of three days, RIK launched an effective outreach campaign to
promote the dissemination of accurate and comprehensive information through the development of an
educative video that was broadcast on the national TV public service. A public service announcement
was aired on a network of 30 radio stations across Serbia. As part of this campaign, a leaflet with
preventive measures was developed and disseminated on Election Day. The leaflet also included RIK’s
instructions for the voting procedure. Over half a million copies of the leaflet were also included in
nine daily newspapers. To increase the reach of the message, particularly among youth voters, RIK
promoted its posts on the instructional video and informational leaflets on Instagram to 800,000
users. The same leaflet design was used for large posters delivered to all 8,253 polling stations across
the country as reminders for voters to follow preventive measures. Collaboration with International
Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) was brought in place for Serbia.

Training of Election Personnel

As the elections had originally been scheduled for April 26, poll worker training sessions had been
completed by the time Serbian authorities adopted preventive measures for Election Day. As it was
considered rather impractical to organize new training sessions to disseminate these preventive
measures, RIK decided to produce large posters with special instructions for poll workers, to be
posted inside every polling station. These posters provided clear guidance on how to set up the polling
station, how to protect themselves, including members of mobile teams, and how to protect voters and
observers during voting.

Poll Day Arrangements

• The Republic of Serbia held its parliamentary elections along with provincial elections in Vojvodina
Province and local elections on Sunday, June 21, 2020, from 7:00 AM until 8:00 PM

• Voting took place in 8,253 polling stations across the country staffed by 49,770 poll workers,
2,990 polling stations in Kosovo and 43 polling stations across diplomatic consular missions
around the world. Out-of-country voters exercised their franchise between June 20-21, 2020.
• Besides 3,341 domestic observers, the election process was monitored by 111 international
observers, including the eight-strong mission of the Office for Democratic Institutions and
Human Rights (ODIHR) and six-strong mission of the European Network of Election Monitoring
Organization (ENEMO).

COVID-19 Safety Measures

The following safety measures were brought in place for handling COVID-19 cases:
• Members of election committees across 8,253 polling stations were mandated to wear masks
and gloves for safety and in order to prevent the spread of the COVID-19. Poll workers shall
disinfect their hands often.