Citizens increasingly are alienated from electoral processes in Serbia, which manifests in declining voter turnout, voting for protest candidates, anti-government street protests, and high levels of public dissatisfaction with the democratic system.

To support civil society efforts to advocate for relevant reforms to the electoral code, NDI conducted public opinion research on attitudes about electoral participation and the perceived level of electoral integrity in November 2018. The results indicated that citizens want greater involvement in national- and local-level elections through the direct election of members of parliament (MPs), mayors, and municipal presidents. The findings also showed that citizens seek electoral reforms that would provide better geographical representation in parliament and would hold politicians to account of the citizens who elected them, rather than political parties.

NDI is collaborating with existing civil society efforts to discuss and develop corresponding solutions to fortify the administrative legal framework, improve transparency, and increase political accountability. This research will further inform these efforts.