BELGRADE, April 2. /TASS/. A delegation from Russia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) has reported no violations at Sunday’s presidential elections in Serbia, Vasily Likhachev, a CEC member who leads the delegation of Russian observers, told TASS.
"By now, I have visited eight polling stations, four in Belgrade and four outside it. At first, voters were more active outside the capital city, I mean Vojvodina. According to the latest data from the republic’s election commission I received before our conversation, the voter turnout as of 15:00 local time (16:00 Moscow time) is as follows: 33.4% in average across the country, Vojvodia is the leader with the voter turnout of 35% In Belgrade, the turnout was 32.6% No violations were reported. I like the way the voting is organized. I asked observers about violations and no one told me about any," he said.
As many as 1,995 local observers and 126 foreign observers from 25 organizations, election commission and embassies are monitoring the elections.
A total of 11 candidates are vying for Serbia’s presidency. The country’s current Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic is the favorite of the election rush. Most analysts do not doubt his victory. The only thing they are arguing about is whether Vucic would gain more than 50% of the vote in the first round, or the country would have to hold a runoff vote.
The Republic’s Central Election Commission said more than 6.7 million people are legible to participate in the voting.
The Serbian president is elected for a five-year term and cannot hold the office more than twice. The head of state represents the country in the international affairs, nominates a prime minister who is to be approved by the parliament. The president also signs laws or vetoes them, to appoints ambassadors, issues pardons and awards, and is the country’s supreme commander-in-chief.