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

October

The Commission for the Audit of the Voter Register distanced itself from findings presented by the Government's Office for IT and eGovernment, which had reported a near-complete match between the voter register and source records. While confirming that the platform was developed in cooperation with it, the Commission stated that the Office's findings were not the result of consistent application of its methodology. It added that statements by other state bodies and by individual Commission members do not represent its findings, and that its audit report will be submitted to the National Assembly.

The voter register closed on 9 October with 102,147 voters assigned to 93 polling stations in 37 countries for voting abroad in the 25 October elections - 2.6 times more voters than in 2023, but only 15% more polling stations. Under the RIK decision, voting at all polling stations abroad takes place from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Serbian time, so at 13 stations in the Americas, Asia and Oceania, with 10,851 voters, it will partly take place at night.

On 9 October 2026, the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government closed the Unified Voter Register for the early parliamentary elections of 25 October. The register contains 6,450,523 voters, who will vote at 8,392 polling stations: 8,270 in the country, 93 abroad and 29 in prisons. The register was closed before the audit of the voter register was completed; the Commission for the audit is due to submit its first report on 28 October, three days after the elections.

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

Voter register audit Commission distances itself from the Government IT Office’s findings

A week after the Government's IT Office reported a near-complete match between the voter register and source records, the audit Commission said those findings were not its own.

Update

Voter register closed: 6,450,523 voters at 8,392 polling stations

The register for the 25 October elections was closed before the announced audit of the voter register was completed. Every polling station can now be searched by street.

Update

Unified Voter Register audit – status and outlook before the election campaign

CRTA's members of the Commission assess that the report due to the National Assembly on 28 October will be a set of partial diagnostic findings, not a completed audit.

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.

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

Key Issues

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Voter register

The voter register audit Commission said the Government IT Office’s finding on the register’s accuracy did not consistently apply its methodology.

Voting abroad: 102,147 voters assigned to 93 polling stations abroad; 13 stations will vote partly at night.

The voter register for the 25 October elections was closed with 6,450,523 voters, before its audit was completed.

What are the steps in the revision process?

Organized voter migration

Voter register audit Commission distances itself from the Government IT Office’s findings

Voter register closed: 6,450,523 voters at 8,392 polling stations

Unified Voter Register audit – status and outlook before the election campaign

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