Updating of Electoral Roll (RS0035)

COMMITMENT 8: Updating of electoral roll
Ongoing - Q2 2019
Lead implementing agency Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government
Description of Commitment
Problem addressed by the
commitment
As regards eligibility of Serbian nationals to vote in Serbian
presidential and parliamentary elections while living in foreign
countries, the Ministry of Public Administration and Local SelfGovernment has observed certain issues in practice in
connection with the submission of requests to register with the
single electoral roll as voters who will vote abroad in the
election. The practice used so far has revealed numerous
difficulties with registering, and thus also with the processing,
when requests were submitted by e-mail. This fact was also
highlighted by the Ombudsman, who gave a recommendation to
improve the regulations pertaining to the electoral roll so that the
eligibility to vote would not be limited for Serbian nationals
living abroad.
In addition, since the practice used so far meant that data from
other official records (registry books) which could result in
changes in the electoral roll had to be sent by mail, there was a
possibility that such changes would not be registered in the
electoral roll in due time, which meant that the electoral roll was
not always up to date.
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Main objective
In order to improve the legislative framework pertaining to the
electoral roll, certain provisions of the Instructions on
Implementation of the Law on Single Electoral Roll have been
improved in order to:
- Ensure normal exercise of the right of Serbian nationals to vote
in a foreign country by specifying a clear procedure for the
submission of requests to register in the single electoral roll the
fact that they will vote abroad in those elections and for deciding
on those requests by competent authorities;
- This, in turn, requires the inclusion of a separate page in the
electoral roll system which would specify the exact
responsibilities of all entities involved in deciding on the
requests, which would ensure legal certainty in the exercise of
this right;
- Ensure electronic linking of the Registry of Deaths with the
single electoral roll to enable timely keeping and updating of the
single electoral roll.
How will this commitment
contribute to problem solving?
Implementation of this commitment will, on the one hand,
ensure easier, more efficient and faster exercise of rights of
Serbian nationals in terms of voting of persons who are not able
to exercise their right to vote in their permanent place of
residence and instead vote in their temporary place of residence
in a foreign country. On the other hand, the introduction of
electronical linking of registers will ensure a legal and regular
procedure for making changes to the electoral roll and for the
passing of decisions, in order to ensure the electoral roll is
accurate, complete and up to date. This would also ensure the
effective exercise of citizens’ rights in this field.
The way in which this commitment
is relevant to further advancing
OGP values
Additional information
Activity with a verifiable
deliverable and completion date
Start Date: End Date:
1. Introduction of a separate page
within the electoral roll system for
Q1 2019 Q2 2019
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the submission of requests to vote
abroad
2. Establishing an electronic link
between the Registry of Deaths and
the single electoral roll –
development of a web service
Q1 2019 Q2 2019
Contact information
Name of a responsible
person in the
implementing agency
Marina Dražić
Title, Department Assistant Minister, MPALSG, Sector for Registry Books and Registers
Email and phone number [email protected]
Other actors involved
Administratio
n
Ministry of Foreign Affairs

8. Updating of electoral roll

Language of the commitment as it appears in the action plan:

In order to improve the legislative framework pertaining to the electoral roll, certain provisions of the Instructions on Implementation of the Law on Single Electoral Roll have been improved in order to:

• Ensure normal exercise of the right of Serbian nationals to vote in a foreign country by specifying a clear procedure for the submission of requests to register in the single electoral roll the fact that they will vote abroad in those elections and for deciding on those requests by competent authorities;
• This, in turn, requires the inclusion of a separate page in the electoral roll system which would specify the exact responsibilities of all entities involved in deciding on the requests, which would ensure legal certainty in the exercise of this right;
• Ensure electronic linking of the Registry of Deaths with the single electoral roll to enable timely keeping and updating of the single electoral roll.

For full commitment text, please refer to the National Action Plan at https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Serbia_Action-Plan_2018-2020_EN.pdf

Start Date: Ongoing

End Date: Q2 2019

Context and Objectives

This commitment addresses two issues relevant for a smooth-functioning electoral system in Serbia: 1) registering of Serbian nationals to vote from abroad in the national elections and 2) the accuracy of the electoral roll. Serbian citizens temporarily residing abroad have the right to request to vote in the country of their residence, in line with the Law on the Single Voters’ List, [104] but instances of poor communication between embassies and local governments previously prevented some citizens from exercising their right to vote. [105]

In addition, a lack of harmonization between the civic registers (managed separately in each municipality in an analog form) and the single electoral roll (with updates communicated through postal mail) created outdated information and errors, with deceased family members born in the nineteenth century still receiving calls to vote. [106] Experts believe that these mistakes and an inability to disclose a public voters’ list significantly distorted citizen trust in the electoral process. [107]

The two objectives of this commitment are to redress the above by making the registration of voters abroad simpler and more efficient through an online channel and by connecting the electoral roll with the Record of Deaths to keep a more accurate list of voters. The MPALSG also plans to hold trainings for the use of this software, outside of the scope of the OGP action plan. [108]

The commitment’s relevance for OGP values is unclear, as it proposes technical measures to improve the electoral registers.

Overall, the commitment is verifiable. However, it lacks certain details to measure implementation thoroughly. It lacks details on what steps are required for the establishment of the “separate page.” Moreover, the commitment vaguely describes the identified problem, using imprecise wording such as “certain issues in practice” and “numerous difficulties.” Still, if implemented as designed, the commitment would achieve a minor effect on changing the government practice. It could contribute to recovering the trust of citizens in the electoral system and enable the MPALSG to improve its internal monitoring and accountability.

Next steps

This commitment originates from the legal obligation of the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government to implement the Law on the Single Voters’ List. Although essential for improving the integrity of the voting system, proposed milestones focus on technical tasks and lack innovation that would change the way government engages with citizens. As such, the commitment brings little value to the OGP process.

The IRM researchers recommend the following measures take place during the implementation:

• Involving non-governmental stakeholders, which the ministry has not planned so far. [109]
• MPALSG should regularly publish statements on the developments regarding the update and maintenance of the electoral roll and who the responsible persons are.
• MPALSG should include harmonization with the Records of Marriages, which it reported already planning to do outside of the scope of this action plan. ^[110]

Future, more potentially meaningful commitments the government could consider including the following:

• Experts believe that current rules for voting abroad, which include exclusively physical voting at stations that can be established only if at least 100 voters are registered, [111] is too restrictive. [112] The IRM researchers recommend the government consider remote voting mechanisms like postal voting for nationals of Germany, [113] Italy, [114] Switzerland, [115] the United Kingdom, [116] and the United States [117] or internet options like those in Estonia [118] and Switzerland. [119] The new laws on e-government and on e-identity and e-document can provide a solid legal base for further developments.
• The government could examine practices maintained by the abovementioned countries regarding how to issue simple and citizen-friendly information sheets, on the voting mechanisms and options, electoral rights, and update of information in the electoral roll. This should help reduce bureaucratic language of the announcements, which often discourages engagement.
• The Centre for Research, Transparency and Accountability and the OSCE/ODIHR have recommended that the electoral roll is disclosed to the public while taking into account the protection of personal information in accordance with the law. [120]

8. Updating of electoral roll

Completion: Complete:

Two amendments to a bylaw provided instruction for implementing the Law on Electoral Roll (November 2018) completed this commitment. According to article 8, para 2, embassies now forward voters' requests to vote abroad to the municipal/city administration in Serbia through a special online page within the electronic voter list system. [57] In article 4 of the same instruction, it is stipulated that the ministry in charge of maintaining the electoral roll takes over the data from the civic records related to deaths, as well as other data necessary for updating the electoral roll. Serbian Prime Minister confirmed that the civic record of deaths is electronically connected with the electoral roll. [58] A Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government representative provided a detailed description of how the data is electronically exchanged in practice. [59]