FOREIGN JOURNALISTS AT ELECTIONS WITHOUT ACCREDITATIONS? UNS WARNS THAT RIK AND MINISTER BRATINA ARE IGNORING QUESTIONS, NO ONE ANSWERS THE PHONE EVEN AFTER 25 MINUTES!

The Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS) said it has received reports from foreign journalists who want to cover the parliamentary elections on October 25, but who have not received answers from the relevant authorities regarding the accreditation process.

The Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) published a notice yesterday stating that journalists from foreign media outlets must obtain their accreditations through the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications, along with a link to the application form.

UNS says that a foreign media outlet contacted the association after completing the form and receiving a notification that the application had been successfully submitted, but not confirmation that the accreditation had been issued.

When checking the status of the application, the website displayed a notification stating that “no active accreditation was found.”

A journalist from a foreign television crew told UNS that the instructions were unclear, while the fact that almost all of the content is in Serbian makes using the system even more difficult.

UNS said it received no response to questions sent to RIK President Vladimir Dimitrijević, the RIK service, the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications, or Minister Boris Bratina.

Among other things, the association asked whether foreign journalists who do not receive accreditation by election day, but have confirmation that they submitted an application, will be allowed to cover the elections.

The statement says that UNS also attempted to obtain information by phone from RIK, but the call was not connected even after waiting for 25 minutes.