SR

Voter register

The voter register is the backbone of electoral integrity. In Serbia, documented abuses - including organized voter migration and concentrations of registrations at single addresses - have raised persistent questions about whether election results reflect the genuine will of voters. A Commission for the Audit of the Voter Register was established to provide independent verification, but has been systematically denied access to the data it needs to function. Key data categories remain inaccessible, citizens still cannot meaningfully verify who is registered at their address. The audit process is being hollowed out before it has had a chance to produce results.
Latest assessment of the UVR process
July

As of mid-July 2026, the first concrete steps towards a substantive review of the voter register are under way. Commission members have been given access to the Unified Voter Register, including the history of changes, though a secure environment for analysing the data is still being set up. Cooperation with the Office for IT and eGovernment on cross-checking the register against civil, residence and citizenship records is under way, with first results expected during July, and the audit of the first municipalities that held March elections is expected to conclude by the end of the month.
Read more on UVR Audit
June

CRTA mapped the full methodology of the Commission for the Audit of the Unified Voter Register against the data access actually provided to date. The assessment finds that 95% of planned checks - everything that requires analysing the register as a whole, cross-referencing source records, or examining system security - cannot be carried out. Full access, required under Article 22j of the UVR Law, has not been provided, while the Commission's reporting deadlines continue to run.
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May

Five months after it was established, the voter register audit commission has adopted its methodology and begun initial activities, but the substantive verification of the register has not started for lack of data access. The methodology rests on aggregate analysis of the register and cross-checking against source registries, while the access granted is limited to looking up voters one at a time, with no aggregate, historical, or cross-register view. The Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, which manages the register, has not provided the access the law guarantees. Under the work plan, the Commission faces possible automatic termination if access is not secured by 31 May 2026.
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What are the steps in the revision process?

The objective of the Commission is to restore public trust in the voter register through a comprehensive, fact-based revision. The process involves five steps. The Commission is currently at the start of step 2.

Step 1

The Commission becomes operational

Done
Step 2

It secures access to relevant data

In progress nowFacing obstructions by the government
Step 3

It analyses the data and adopts recommendations

Upcoming
Step 4

Relevant authorities implement these recommendations

Upcoming
Step 5

A more accurate and secure voter register

Goal

Organized voter migration

During the 2023 elections, CRTA documented cases of organized voter migration as a form of electoral engineering. This practice involves the coordinated and temporary re-registration of voters to different municipalities in order to influence local election outcomes. Evidence pointed to systematic patterns, including large numbers of voters registered at single addresses and sudden increases in voter populations in targeted areas, raising serious doubts about the credibility of the voter registry.

These findings became a central trigger for demands to audit the Unified Voter Registry. Without an accurate and transparent registry, safeguards against manipulation remain weak, and public trust in elections continues to erode. The documented scale and organization of voter migration in 2023 highlighted the urgent need for an independent and thorough verification process—one capable of identifying irregular entries, clarifying residency records, and restoring confidence in the integrity of the electoral system.
Update
Auditing the voter register: purpose, impact, and where we are at the moment
The purpose of the audit is to determine, on the basis of evidence, whether the Unified Voter Register can be trusted — and to correct the problems it finds. It does this by testing both the accuracy of the data and the resilience of the system that maintains it, proceeding in sequence from first indications, through deeper checks, to findings and conclusions.
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Update
Where the UVR Commission stands as the 31 May deadline nears
Five months after it was established, the Commission has adopted its methodology and begun initial work, but the authorities have not granted the data access the law requires. Without it, the substantive audit cannot begin - and the body faces possible termination at the end of May.
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Update
What is the UVR Commission?
A body established by Parliament to audit the Unified Voter Register and help rebuild public trust in it. It is meant to bring together nominees of the ruling majority, the opposition, and civil society, and to take decisions only with cross-group agreement.
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Brief
Opposition SSP proposes new framework for diaspora voting and residence records
The proposals would extend voting rights in national elections to citizens with actual residence abr...
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Update
Membership of the voter register audit commission elected
On 28 January, parliament elected 10 members and 10 deputy members of the Commission for the Audit, Verification and Control of the Accuracy and Updating of the Voter Register. Eight pairs of seats went to parliamentary groups and two to civil society representatives - CRTA and CESID.
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Update
Vlast je odgovorna za nered u biračkom spisku
Nekažnjivost štiti delove institucija koji, umesto da sprovode i štite zakon, učestvuju u nezakonitim aktivnostima.
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Update
2023 Elections – Final Observation Report – Summary
The extraordinary parliamentary and Belgrade elections were not free and fair.
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Update
Preliminary Statement on Organized Voter Migration Ahead of the December 17, 2023 Elections in Serbi...
Organized voter migration is a type of electoral engineering that includes coordinated behavior of voters that temporarily change their residence to another constituency to influence voting results. In Serbia, in the Elections 2023 it might have been used on a large scale to influence the outcomes of the local elections strategically called only in one part of cities and municipalities.
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