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

On 30 July 2026, ODIHR published the report of its Needs Assessment Mission to Serbia and recommended deploying a full Election Observation Mission for the anticipated early elections, with a core team of analysts, 32 long-term observers and 300 short-term observers, plus media monitoring and an assessment of disinformation and foreign and domestic interference. It is the largest full-scale mission ODIHR has proposed for Serbia since 2012, larger than the missions deployed in 2022 and 2023, reflecting the concerns interlocutors raised about a highly polarised pre-election environment.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

Update

Vlast je odgovorna za nered u biračkom spisku

Nekažnjivost štiti delove institucija koji, umesto da sprovode i štite zakon, učestvuju u nezakonitim aktivnostima.

Update

2023 Elections – Final Observation Report – Summary

The extraordinary parliamentary and Belgrade elections were not free and fair.

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.

CRTA.Plus is part of CRTA’s work to document developments related to democracy, the rule of law, and accountability in Serbia.

Key Issues

Slučajevi

Other pages

Slučajevi

Voter register

ODIHR recommends a full observation mission with 32 long-term and 300 short-term observers for Serbia’s anticipated early elections.

Commission members gain access to the voter register’s change history, and audits begin in the municipalities that held elections in March.

CRTA’s June 2026 assessment finds that only 4 of 69 planned audit checks can be performed under the data access currently granted to the voter register Commission.

What are the steps in the revision process?

Organized voter migration

Auditing the voter register: purpose, impact, and where we are at the moment

Where the UVR Commission stands as the 31 May deadline nears

What is the UVR Commission?

Opposition SSP proposes new framework for diaspora voting and residence records

Membership of the voter register audit commission elected

Vlast je odgovorna za nered u biračkom spisku

2023 Elections – Final Observation Report – Summary

Preliminary Statement on Organized Voter Migration Ahead of the December 17, 2023 Elections in Serbi...