{"id":218957,"date":"2026-09-21T17:45:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T15:45:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/?p=218957"},"modified":"2026-09-21T17:45:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T15:45:17","slug":"sofija-mandic-on-the-electoral-process-the-same-problems-as-in-2023-the-elections-will-be-irregular-whoever-wins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/sofija-mandic-on-the-electoral-process-the-same-problems-as-in-2023-the-elections-will-be-irregular-whoever-wins\/","title":{"rendered":"SOFIJA MANDI\u0106 ON THE ELECTORAL PROCESS: The same problems as in 2023, the elections will be irregular whoever wins!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sofija Mandi\u0107, a member of the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK<\/a>) and executive director of the Center for Judicial Research, said that the electoral process looks the same as in 2023 and stressed that these elections will be irregular whoever wins.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sofija Mandi\u0107 pointed out that all the problems that existed in the December 2023 elections are still present now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to phantom lists, she says the situation is worse because the electoral law has been changed, allowing the same person to sign multiple lists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhoever shows up with those boxes, regardless of whether they have been certified in accordance with the law, can run,\u201d the RIK member told N1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regarding the voter register, she said the situation is the same and added that it still contains around 900,000 more adults than the population census data shows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is no effective mechanism to clean up the voter register,\u201d she stressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commenting on media conditions, Mandi\u0107 says that President Aleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107 appeared in the media four times more than during the previous elections. She also recalled that until now he had given his name to an electoral list, while this time he is the first candidate on the SNS list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said that this was one of the objections submitted to the RIK, which was rejected as unfounded, and that an appeal had been filed with the Constitutional Court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf the president is not in a conflict of interest, then a conflict of interest as such does not exist. Our Constitution explicitly prohibits conflicts of interest. Our laws require him to report any potential conflict of interest, and the Agency is obliged to issue a statement on the matter ex officio,\u201d Mandi\u0107 said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The RIK member pointed out that there are positions within the Commission that this is not within the body\u2019s jurisdiction and that the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption should deal with it. Mandi\u0107 responds that the legal system cannot be viewed in such a way that everyone speaks partially about what they think, without any real effect on people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe must have the competent authorities issue their positions in a timely manner,\u201d Mandi\u0107 said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As she explained, the right to decide should be returned to the electoral<\/a> commissions, instead of politics, which, she stressed, is making the decisions now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDecisions are made in groups and then voted on. And some of us, who are trying to be professional, are obliged to act in accordance with the law while serving on the electoral commission, and when we point all this out, we are labeled as being politically motivated, as wanting to bring down one list,\u201d the interviewee of Danica Vu\u010deni\u0107 said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She says that the power of the group that is not obliged to vote in a particular way was considerable, but that it will decline as the number of lists entering the RIK increases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe saw that in 2023. The idea is to outvote us, and that is why major disputes will end up before the Administrative Court<\/a>. My assessment is that the RIK will not be able to deal with the objections in a legally sound manner,\u201d Mandi\u0107 assessed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe elections will be irregular whoever wins\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Asked how the validity of the election result can be discussed under such conditions, Mandi\u0107 noted that this is a difficult question because the elections will be irregular whoever wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe cannot say that if the SNS wins, the elections were stolen, and if the Student List wins, they were not. The only question is whether those who organized this election theft, and it is being carried out by institutions and the media, which are controlled by one party or coalition, will calculate enough to allow the Student List to have a majority. If it has a majority, it will be their political responsibility to say \u2014 we have overtaken you, but only enough to provide you with electoral legislation and conditions for a shorter period and to establish free institutions so that we can all freely express our views,\u201d the RIK member said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She asked how we will be able to live with this for four years if the SNS has 40 percent that does not belong to it, even if it ends up in opposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Demand to call elections \u2014 a call to dive headfirst into an empty pool<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Commenting on the students\u2019 demand that elections be called, Mandi\u0107 said they in the RIK were surprised by it and described it as a call \u201cto jump into a pool without water, headfirst.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is somewhat of a vicious circle, because the elections have to be conducted by institutions, it is like chasing your own tail. The problem is that the whole issue of electoral conditions seems irrelevant to political actors, especially when they receive backing. The entire process is so contaminated that your strength cannot compensate for the flaws of the procedure,\u201d Mandi\u0107 pointed out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u0160TA SE KRIJE IZA NAVODNIH \u201eSKAJ\u201c PORUKA: Datumi se ne poklapaju, a nedoumice otvara i put Medenice u Srbiju!(FOTO)<\/a><\/blockquote>