Provincial Assembly Decision оn the Election of deputies of the Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina
("Official Journal of APV", No. 23/2014)
Pursuant to Article 31 Paragraph 1 Line 10 of the Statute of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina ("Official Journal of APV", No. 20/2014),
During the Session held on 6 July 2014, The Assembly of the Autonomous Provice of Vojvodina has adopted the following
Provincial Assembly Decision
оn the Election of deputies of the Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina
I GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1
This Decision shall stipulate the election and the termination of the mandate of deputies of the Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina (hereinafter: Deputies).
All nouns used in this Decision denote male gender, shall at the same time denote female gender nouns.
Nouns denoting official positions and functions in bodies of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina shall be used in the form which shall express the sex of the person being their holder.
Article 2
Citizens shall elect deputies in accordance with the free, general, fair and direct right to vote, by secret ballot.
The right to elect and be elected as a deputy shall belong to any citizen with the right to vote and with place of residence on the territory of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina (hereinafter: Province).
Article 3
The right to elect a deputy shall belong to any citizen of the Republic of Serbia, who turned 18 years of working age, and has a place of residence in the territory of the constituency where he/she exercises his/her right to vote (hereinafter: Voter).
Eligible candidate for a deputy may be any citizen of the Republic of Serbia, who turned 18, has legal capacity and a place of residence in the territory of the Province.
Article 4
No one shall have the right, on any account, to prevent or force a citizen to vote, to hold them accountable for voting and to require declaring themselves about the person they voted for or reasons for not voting.
It is forbidden to collect signatures in the workplace, as well as to pressure citizens in any way to support a candidate or electoral list with their signature.
Article 5
The Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina (hereinafter: Assembly) shall be composed of 120 deputies, for a term of four years.
Article 6
The deputies in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, as a single constituency, shall be elected in accordance with the list of a political party (party electoral list), coalition of political parties or coalition of a political party and citizens’ group (coalition electoral list) or citizens’ group (citizens’ group electoral list).
Article 7
A deputy may not be employed in aprovincial authority. From the day of the verification of the deputy’s term of office, the employment of the person employed in the provincial authority shall be suspended.
II CALLING OF ELECTIONS
Article 8
Elections for deputies shall be called by the Assembly President, 90 days prior to the expiry of the Assembly’s term of office, in order to ensure the completion of the elections in the next 60 days.
The Assembly President shall call the elections before the deadline specified in Paragraph 1 of this Article, in instances of the early dissolution of the Assembly, in the event that the Provincial government is not elected within the period of 90 after the constitution of the Assembly; in instance of the failure to constitute a new Provincial Government within 60 days from the date the Government was dissoluted i.e. the date when the President of the Government tendered in their resignation, pursuant to the Statute.
The President shall call the elections not later than 30 days from the day of the instance from Paragraph 2 of this Article occurs.
The function of deputies, whose term of office expires, shall terminate on the day of the constitution of the Assembly.
Article 9
Less than 30 days and more than 60 days should not pass from the day of calling of elections until the day of their holding.
The Decision on Calling Elections shall stipulate the day of holding of elections, as well as the start date for performing electoral activities.
The Decision on Calling Elections shall be published in the “Official Journal of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina (hereinafter: "Official Journal of APV").
Article 10
The day after the day of calling of the elections for deputies, the competent body shall announce and inform voters that they may propose a registration, addition and modification of the electoral list, as stipulated by law.
III BODIES IN CHARGE OF THE ELECTION CONDUCTION
Article 11
The bodies in charge of the election conduction shall be election commissions and election committees.
The Provincial Electoral Commission shall be appointed for the period of four years.
The election committees shall be appointed for every election to the Assembly.
Article 12
Members of the bodies in charge of the election conduction and their deputies must be entitled to vote and have residence on the territory of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.
The term of office of the members of the bodies in charge of the election conduction and their deputies in these bodies shall ceaseonce they accept the candidacy for deputies.
Article 13
The bodies in charge of the election conduction shall be independent in their work and they shall act in accordance with the law, this Decision and other regulations enacted pursuant to this law and this Decision.
The bodies in charge of the election conduction shall decide by the majority vote of their members.
All bodies and organisations shall be obliged to provide assistance to the bodies in charge of the election conduction and submit data required for their work.
Members and deputy members of the bodies in charge of the election conduction may not be persons who are direct lineal descendants, regardless of the degree of relationship, who are in collateral relationship, including the third degree of relationship, and in relationship by affinity, including the second degree of relationship, nor spouses and persons who are in direct adoptive parent-adoptee or legal guardian-ward relationship.
If the bodies in charge of the election conduction have been set up contrary to the paragraph 4 of this Article, the aforementioned body shall be dissolved and elections, that is voting shall be repeated.
Article 14
The bodies in charge of the election conduction operate in the regular and extended composition.
The right to appoint a member of the extended composition of the body in charge of the election conduction shall belong to the submitter of verified and proclaimed electoral list who has nominated at least half of the candidates out of the total number of deputies being elected.
Two or more submitters of the electoral list may appoint a common accredited member to the body in charge of the election conduction.
Members of the bodies in charge of the election conduction in the regular and extended composition shall have equal rights and duties within the bodies in charge of the election conduction.
Members of the bodies in charge of the election conduction shall have deputies to whom all provisions of the Decision on the appointment, rights and duties of the members of the bodies in charge of the election conduction, shall be applied.
Article 15
Pursuant to Articles 14 and 18 of this Decision, the Provincial Electoral Commission shall pass a decision, stipulating that the submitter of the electoral list meets the requirements for appointing their member and his/her deputy in the extended composition of the Provincial Electoral Commission, within 48 hours from the proclamation of the electoral list.
The Decision of Eligibility or Ineligibility for appointing the representative of the submitter of the electoral list shall be delivered by the Provincial Electoral Commission to the submitter of the electoral list to the address specified in the electoral list within 24 hours from passing the Decision.
The submitter of the electoral list shall submit to the Provincial Electoral Commission the nomination of candidates for a member and his/her deputy in the extended composition of the Provincial Electoral Commission within 48 hours from the receipt of the Decision of Eligibility for appointing the representative in the extended composition of the Provincial Electoral Commission.
The representative of the submitter of the electoral list shall become a member of the extended composition of the Provincial Electoral Commission, within 24 hours from passing the Decision.
The right to membership in an extended composition of the Provincial Electoral Commissionof the representatives and their deputies shall cease immediately upon the determination of election results.
Termination of the member’s and his/her deputy’s right to membership in the extended composition shall be confirmed by the Provincial Electoral Commission in a separate act.
Members of the extended composition and their deputies should hold Bachelor of Law degrees.
Article 16
The Provincial Electoral Commission shall consist of the President and ten members.
The President of the Provincial Electoral Commissionshall be appointed by the Assembly upon the proposal of the President of the Assembly.
Members of the Provincial Electoral Commission shall be appointed upon the proposal of deputies’ groups in the Assembly.
The Provincial Electoral Commission shall have a Secretary who shall be the Assembly Secretary and their deputy.
They shall take part in the activities of the Provincial Electoral Commission, without the right of decision-making.
The President of the Provincial Electoral Commission, their members and the Secretary shall have deputies.
The President, members and Secretary of the Provincial Electoral Commission, as well as their deputies shall have to hold Bachelor of Law degrees, with at least three years of professional experience.
The act on appointment of members of the Provincial Electoral Commissionshall be published in the Official Journal of APV.
Article 17
The Provincial Electoral Commission shall:
1. enable conduction of the election in accordance with this Decision,
2. designate and announce polling places in the "Official Journal of APV",
3. set up polling committees and appoint their members,
4. determine the number of required ballot papers
5. organise technical preparations for the election of deputies,
6. supply data about the elections to the bodies in charge of the data collection,
7. coordinate activities of the bodies in charge of the election conduction and instruct them on the conduction of the deputies’ election procedure,
8. prescribe forms of interest to work of the bodies in charge of the election conduction, method of supplying data to the committee and adopt acts for performing election-related activities stipulated by this Decision,
9. provide interpretation of the conduction of provisions of this Decision,
10. determine and announce the final election results,
11. submit the report on the conducted elections to the Assembly,
12. determine and announce the total number of voters,
13. determine whether electoral lists have been created and submitted in accordance with this Decision,
14. pass a decision on proclamation of the electoral list,
15. pass a decision on proclamation of the combined electoral list,
16. prepare and verify ballot papers,
17. pass a decision on award of mandates to deputies,
18. prescribe the method of authentication of signatures and other data from the form specified in Article 31,
19. perform other duties stipulated by this Decision.
Article 18
Election material shall be kept for the period of at least four years.
The Provincial Electoral Commission shall establish the method of handling and keeping of the election material.
Article 19
The election committee shall directly manage the voting process in the elections, ensure regularity and confidentiality of voting and determine the voting results at the polling place.
On the election day, before the commencement of the voting process, the election committeeshall establish whether the prepared election material for the given polling place has been complete and valid, whether the polling place has been organised in a manner which enables the confidentiality of voting and whether voting may commence, which shall be entered into the records of their activities.
The regular composition of the election committeeshall be the President and at least two members who have deputies.
The election committeeshall be appointed at least ten days before the day determined for holding of elections.
When elections for deputies of the National Assembly and elections for aldermen for the municipal or city assembly are held at the same time, duties of election committee, regarding the election conduction activities for the election of deputies to the Assembly, may be performed by election committeeestablished for the purpose of election deputies of the National Assembly or aldermen for the municipal or city assembly, if so stipulated by the act of the Provincial Electoral Commission.
IV PRESENTATION OF CANDIDATES
Article 20
Submitters of the list of candidates i.e. electoral list shall be entitled to use the mass media to inform citizens about programmes, activities, as well as nominated candidates, in conformity with provisions of this Decision.
The mass media shall enable candidates for deputies, i.e. their proposers to present and elaborate on election agenda, under equal conditions, taking into account proportional and equal representation of candidates of all proposers.
Article 21
The election propaganda by means of the mass media and public gatherings and announcements of the election results forecasting shall be forbidden 48 hours before the election day, as well as on the election day until the closure of polling places.
V GENERAL PROVISIONS PERTAINING TO THE ELECTION CONDUCTION
Article 22
A voter shall cast their vote in person.
A voter shall vote at the polling place where they are registered in the voters’ list abstract.
A voter may also vote outside the polling place where they are registered in the voters’ list abstract, under conditions and in a manner stipulated by law.
The method of voting outside the polling place, as well as the number of voters who have cast their votes in that manner, shall be entered into records of activities of the polling committee.
At the time of elections, citizens temporarily working or residing abroad shall vote at the polling place in the last domicile in the territory of the Province.
At least ten days before the election day, the election committee shall announce which polling places have been designated in the constituency, their ordinal numbers and areas where voters shall cast their votes at the abovementioned places.
At least five days before the holding of elections, each voter shall receive notification on the date and time of holding of elections with the number and address of the polling place where he/she shall vote, as well as the number under which he/she has been registered in the voters’ list abstract.
Separate premises shall be designated for each polling place.
At the polling place itself and within the 50 meters radius of the polling place, it is forbidden to display any symbols of political parties or other political organisations, as well as other promotional materials.
At the polling place itself, it is forbidden to use mobile phones or other communication devices.
Everyone shall be forbidden to remain longer than necessary at the polling place, unless they have rights and duties stipulated by this Decision.
Article 23
Polling places within the constituency shall open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.
Voters who found themselves at the polling place at the moment of closing of the polling place shall be allowed to vote.
Should any disorder occur at the polling place, the polling committee may interrupt the voting until order is restored. Duration of and reasons for the interruption of the voting process shall be entered into the records.
In cases when voting has been interrupted for more than one hour, due to disorders, voting shall be prolonged for the period of duration of the disorder.
Article 24
During the voting process, all members of the polling committee or their deputies should be present.
The polling committee shall examine the ballot box in the presence of the voter who has arrived first at the polling place. The examination result shall be entered on the control sheet, signed by the members of the polling committee, as well as by the voter who has arrived first at the polling place.
The control sheet shall be cast into the ballot box after which it shall be sealed up in the presence of the first-to-arrive voter, which shall be entered into the records of activities of the polling committee.
After the opening of the ballot box, first of all it shall be examined whether there is the control sheet. If there is no control sheet inside the ballot box, the polling committee shall be dissolved and the new one shall be set up, while voting at the given polling place shall be repeated.
The control sheet and method of the ballot box sealing shall be prescribed by the Provincial Electoral Commission.
VI ELECTION LIST
А) CANDIDACY
Article 25
Candidate for a deputy may be nominated by political parties, coalitions of several political parties, citizens’ groups, coalitions of political parties and citizens’ groups, provided they have been supported by signatures of at least 6000 voters per electoral list.
In terms of this Decision, a citizens’ group shall be established by way of a written agreement of at least ten voters whose signatures should be certified in the court and the group may have a name.
Political parties of national minorities and coalitions of political parties of national minorities may nominate candidates for deputies if they have been supported by signatures of at least 3000 voters per electoral list.
On behalf of a political party or citizens’ group, the nomination under Paragraph 1 of this Article may only be submitted by a person authorised by the political party or citizens’ group.
The nomination on behalf of the coalition under Paragraph 1 of this Article shall be submitted by two authorised persons at the most.
Article 26
The electoral list shall be submitted to the Provincial Electoral Commission not later than 15 days before the day determined for holding of elections.
Apart from the electoral list, other documents shall be submitted to the Provincial Electoral Commission, such as:
1. voting right certificate for each candidate from the electoral list, where full name, date of birth, occupation and personal identification number are stated,
2. written statement of acceptance of candidature,
3. domicile certificate of the candidate,
4. written consent of the list leader,
5. authorisation of persons submitting the electoral list,
6. citizenship certificate,
7. certified signatures of voters who have supported certain electoral list.
When the electoral list has been proposed by a coalition of several political parties or coalition of political parties and citizens’ group, a written coalition agreement regulating their mutual rights and responsibilities, particularly the method of awarding mandates, should be submitted, along with the electoral list.
Article 27
A single person may be a candidate for a deputy only on one electoral list.
The submitter of the electoral list shall determine the order of candidates on the list.
Among every group of three candidates on the electoral list, according to the order on the list (first three places, following three places and using the same pattern until the last place on the list), there should be one candidate- member of the sex which is the least represented on the list.
In case the electoral list does not meet the requirements referred to in Paragraph 3 of this Article, it shall be considered to contain omissions for proclamation of the electoral list, while the proposer of the list shall be instructed to eliminate omissions on the list, pursuant to this Decision.
If the proposer of the list does not eliminate omissions referred to in Paragraph 4 of this Article, the Provincial Electoral Commission shall refuse to proclaim the electoral list, pursuant to this Decision.
Article 28
The submitter of the electoral list shall lose the right to nominate a new candidate, if, upon the issuing of the decision on proclamation of the electoral list, the candidate has been deprived of legal capacity or citizenship of the Republic of Serbia by means of the final judgement, as well as in the case of withdrawal of their candidature or death.
The position on the electoral list of candidates referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article shall be taken by a candidate who is next on the electoral list.
Article 29
The submitter of the electoral list may withdraw the list until the day of establishing collective electoral list at the latest.
Withdrawal of the electoral list shall imply cessation of the function of the representative of the submitter of the list in all bodies in charge of the election conduction, as well as termination of all rights to which they are entitled to in this capacity, in accordance with provisions of this Decision.
Article 30
The name of the electoral list shall be chosen according to the name of the political party submitting the list, while the name may include the first and last name of the person appointed as the leader of the electoral list by his/her political party.
If two or more political parties submit the joint electoral list, the name of the electoral list and at least two leaders of the electoral list shall be determined as agreed.
Apart from the name of the electoral list of a citizens’ group, the submitter shall establish a specific designation of that list, while the name may incorporate the first and last name of the person appointed as a leader of the electoral list by the citizens’ group.
The person appointed as the electoral list leader may be a candidate for a deputy.
Article 31
The Provincial Electoral Commission shall prescribe the outline and content of the petition form for voters supporting the electoral list and make it available to the election participants within five days from the day determined for the commencement of election activities.
The submitter of the electoral list shall appoint the authorised persons for collection of signatures of voters supporting the electoral list and issue to them a special authorisation for collection of signatures.
Authorisation form for persons referred to in Paragraph 2 of this Article shall be prescribed by the Provincial Electoral Commission.
A voter may support the electoral list of a single proposer by means of their signature.
Article 32
The Provincial Electoral Commission shall proclaim the party electoral list, coalition electoral list or the electoral list of the citizens’ group, immediately upon the receipt of the electoral list and relevant documentation, not later than 24 hours from the receipt of the electoral list.
The decision on the proclamation of the electoral list referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article shall be immediately sent to the submitter by the Provincial Electoral Commission.
Article 33
Once the Provincial Electoral Commission has determined that the electoral list has not been submitted on time, it shall issue a decision on its refusal.
Once the Provincial Electoral Commission has determined that the electoral list contains omissions which represent an impediment to proclamation of the electoral list, pursuant to this Decision, it shall reach a conclusion, within 24 hours from the receipt of the electoral list, ordering the submitter of the electoral list to eliminate the abovementioned omissions, within 48 hours from the time of delivery of the conclusion, at the latest. This conclusion shall, at the same time, point out to the submitter of the list the activities they should undertake for the purpose of eliminating omissions.
Once the Provincial Electoral Commission has determined that omissions from the electoral list have not been eliminated or have not been eliminated within the specified time, it shall issue a decision on the rejection of proclamation of the electoral list, within the next 24 hours.
Article 34
The collective electoral list shall be determined by the Provincial Electoral Commission and it shall contain all electoral lists, including personal names of all candidates and data pertaining to the date of birth, occupation and place of residence.
The order of electoral lists on the collective electoral list, including the images of all candidates, shall be established according to the order of their proclamation.
The Provincial Electoral Commission shall publish the collective electoral list in the Official Journal of APV.
Each submitter of the electoral list shall be entitled, within 48 hours from the day of publishing the collective electoral list, to carry out inspection, through the person they authorised, of all submitted electoral lists and documentation enclosed.
B) CONDUCTION OF ELECTIONS
Article 35
The Provincial Electoral Commission shall prepare the election material beforehand, and submit it, not later than 48 hours before the day of holding of the elections, to the election committee of the constituency (required number of ballot papers, special official envelopes for voting, sheet of the records of activities of the polling committee etc.).
Article 36
Ballot papers shall be prepared and verified by the Provincial Electoral Commission.
The Provincial Electoral Commission shall establish the total number of ballot papers which should be equal to the number of voters registered in the municipal voters’ list.
The Provincial Electoral Commission shall determine the number of spare ballot papers, which may not exceed 0.3% of the total number of ballot papers.
Ballot papers shall be printed in one place.
The submitter of the electoral list shall propose to the Provincial Electoral Commission the name of the person authorised to monitor printing, counting, packing of ballot papers and their delivery to the authorities in charge of the election conduction.
For municipalities where languages and scripts of national minorities are in official use, ballot papers shall be printed bilingually or multilingually.
The Provincial Electoral Commission shall determine the outline and content of ballot papers, method and control of their printing, delivery and handling of ballot papers.
Article 37
A ballot paper shall contain:
1. ordinal number placed in front of the name of the electoral list,
2. names of electoral lists, according to the order determined on the collective electoral list, including personal name of the first candidate from the list,
3. note explaining that votes should be cast only for one electoral list, by means of encircling the ordinal number in front of the name of the given list or the name of the electoral list itself.
Article 38
The collective electoral list, with names of electoral lists and all candidates, should be made publicly visible at the polling place.
The content, outline and method of distinguishing the collective electoral list referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article shall be prescribed by the Provincial Electoral Commission.
Article 39
Representatives of submitters of electoral lists and candidates for deputies shall have the right of access to election material.
Inspection shall be carried out in official facilities of the Provincial Electoral Commission, within two days from the day of holding of elections.
Article 40
A voter may cast their vote only for one of the electoral lists from the ballot paper.
Voting shall be performed by encircling the ordinal number in front of the name of the electoral list for which the vote shall be cast or by encircling the name of the electoral list.
C) DETERMINATION OF THE ELECTION RESULTS
Article 41
Upon the completed voting, the polling committee shall commence the process of determination of the voting results at the polling place.
The polling committee shall establish the number of unused ballot papers and place them inside a separate envelope which shall be affixed with a seal and with the note stating that these are the unused ballot papers.
On the basis of the voters’ list abstract, the polling committee shall establish the total number of voters who have cast their votes.
Once the ballot box has been opened, after the examination of the control sheet, valid ballot papers shall be separated from the invalid.
The polling committee shall confirm the number of invalid ballot papers, enter the obtained number in the records and place invalid ballot papers inside a separate envelope affixed with a seal and with the note stating that these are the invalid ballot papers, after which they shall determine the number of valid ballot papers, as well as the number of votes that each electoral list has received, which shall also be entered into the records.
Valid ballot papers shall be placed inside a separate envelope with the note stating that these are the valid ballot papers and it shall be affixed with a seal.
The ballot paper shall be considered invalid if it has not been filled, if it has been filled in such a way which makes it impossible to determine the electoral list for which the vote has been cast, as well as the ballot paper with more than one encircled electoral list.
When the ballot paper contains the encircled full name of the first candidate on the electoral list or encircled name or part of the name of the electoral list, that is, if the ordinal number and name of the electoral list and full name of the first candidate have been encircled at the same time, such ballot paper shall be considered valid.
In case it has been established that the number of ballot papers inside the ballot box is larger than the number of voters who have cast their votes or in case the control sheet has not been found inside the ballot box, the polling committee shall be dismissed and the new one shall be appointed, while voting at that place shall be repeated.
Article 42
After determination of the voting results, the polling committee shall enter into the records of their activities the following data: the number of the received ballot papers; the number of the unused ballot papers; the number of the invalid ballot papers; the number of the valid ballot papers; the number of votes cast for each electoral list; the number of voters according to the voters’ list abstract and the number of voters who have cast their votes.
The polling committee shall also enter into the records of their activities observations and opinions of the members of the polling committee, submitters of electoral lists and common representatives of submitters of electoral lists, as well as other facts of relevance to the voting process.
The records of the polling committee activities shall be signed by all members of the polling committee.
Article 43
The records of the polling committee activities shall be prepared on a prescribed sheet which shall be printed in six copies.
In municipalities where languages and scripts of national minorities are in official use, the records of the polling committee activities shall be printed bilingually and multilingually.
The first copy of the records with established election material shall be submitted to the Provincial Electoral Commission.
The second copy of the records shall be made publicly visible at the polling place.
The remaining four copies of the records shall be delivered to the representatives of submitters of electoral lists which have received the largest number of votes at that polling place and immediately so if the submitter of the electoral list has a representative in the polling committee, while in case he/she does not have it, the representative of the submitter of the electoral list may take a copy of the records from the Provincial Electoral Commission, within 12 hours.
Article 44
Once the voting results have been determined, the polling committee shall, immediately and not later than eighteen hours from the closure of polling places, send to the election committee of the constituency, the records on establishing voting results at the polling place, voters’ list abstract, valid ballot papers placed inside the separate envelope affixed with a seal, unused ballot papers placed inside the separate envelope affixed with a seal, invalid ballot papers placed inside the separate envelope affixed with a seal, as well as the remaining election material.
Article 45
Within 96 hours from the closure of polling places, the Provincial Electoral Commission shall determine the following: the total number of voters registered in the voters’ list; the number of voters who have cast their votes at polling places; the total number of received ballot papers; the total number of unused ballot papers; the total number of invalid ballot papers; the total number of valid ballot papers and the number of votes cast for each electoral list individually.
The Provincial Electoral Commission shall determine the election results and prepare the separate records.
Article 46
The submitters of the electoral lists may register a specific person with the Provincial Assembly Commission who shall be entitled to be present during the statistical processing of data in the Provincial Electoral Commission.
Article 47
Each electoral list shall be entitled to the number of mandates in proportion to the number of received votes.
The Provincial Electoral Commission shall determine the number of mandates to which each electoral list is entitled.
Electoral lists which have gained at least 5% of votes out of the total number of votes by voters who have voted, shall take part in the distribution of mandates.
Political parties of national minorities and coalition of political parties of national minorities shall participate in the distribution of mandates, even if they have gained less than 5% of votes out of the total number of voters who have cast their votes.
Political parties of national minorities shall include all the parties whose main goal is promotion and representation of interests of national minorities and protection and extension of rights of people belonging to national minorities, in conformity with national and international standards.
The issue on whether the submitter of the electoral list shall have a status of the political party of national minority, that is the coalition of political parties of national minorities, shall be resolved by the Provincial Electoral Commission, during the proclamation of the electoral list, upon the proposal of the submitter of the electoral list, which should be made during the submission of the electoral list.
Article 48
The Provincial Electoral Commission shall distribute mandates by means of application of the highest quotient system.
Mandates shall be distributed by dividing the total number of votes gained by each electoral list by numbers from one to 120 inclusive.
The resulting quotients shall be classified by value and 120 highest quotients shall be taken into consideration. Each electoral list shall be entitled to the number of mandates proportional to its share of quotients.
If two or more electoral lists have gained the same quotients, on the basis of which they have been awarded one mandate and there have been no more undistributed mandates, the mandate shall be awarded to the list which has received the largest number of votes in total.
If none of the electoral lists has gained at least 5% of votes, distribution shall be carried out in a manner specified in paragraph 1 to 3 of this Article.
Article 49
Mandates belonging to a certain electoral list shall be awarded to the candidates from the given list, in accordance with provisions of this Decision.
Within ten days from the day of determination of election results at the latest, the Provincial Electoral Commission shall award all received mandates from the given electoral list to candidates from the same list, according to the order on the list, starting from the first candidate on the list.
The Provincial Electoral Commission shall issue a certificate of election to the elected deputy.
The candidate who has been awarded the mandate pursuant to provisions under paragraph 2 of this Article, may, prior to verification of the mandate, submit to the Provincial Electoral Commission a statement of non-acceptance of the mandate. The statement of non-acceptance of the mandate shall be certified by the competent authority in charge of certification of signatures and submitted in person within three days from the day of certification.
In the case referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article, the Provincial Electoral Commission shall award a mandate to the first next candidate from the same electoral list, who has not been awarded the mandate of the deputy.
In the case referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article, if the statement of non-acceptance of the mandate has been submitted by a candidate from the coalition electoral list, the Provincial Electoral Commission shall award a mandate to the first next candidate from the electoral list, who has not been awarded the mandate and who is a member of the same political party. If there is no such candidate, the mandate shall be awarded to the first next candidate from the same coalition electoral list, who has not been awarded the mandate of the deputy.
D) REPEATED ELECTIONS
Article 50
Repeated elections shall be carried out if the Provincial Electoral Commission or the competent court of Serbia declares the elections null and void due to irregularities in the election conduction, in cases stipulated by this Decision.
If the elections have been declared null and void at a certain polling place, voting shall be repeated only at the given polling place.
At polling places where election procedure has not been carried out in accordance with this Decision, the elections shall be repeated within seven days from the moment of establishing irregularities in the election procedure, in a manner and following the procedure stipulated for the purpose of the election conduction.
The repeated elections shall be called by the Provincial Electoral Commission.
The repeated elections shall be carried out according to the electoral list established for the elections declared null and void, except in cases when elections have been declared null and void, due to irregularities in establishing the electoral list.
In cases of repeated elections, final election results shall be established upon the completion of repeated voting.
Article 51
Pursuant to provisions of this Decision, when a deputy’s mandate terminates before the expiry of the period for which they have been elected, the mandate shall be awarded to the new deputy, in a manner stipulated by this Decision.
Pursuant to provisions of this Decision, when a deputy’s mandate terminates before the expiry of the period for which they have been elected, the mandate shall be awarded to the first next candidate from the same electoral list, who has not been awarded the mandate of the deputy.
When a mandate of a deputy, elected from the coalition electoral list, terminates before the expiry of the period for which they have been elected, the mandate shall be awarded to the first next candidate from the electoral list, who has not been awarded the mandate and who is a member of the same political party. If there is no such candidate, the mandate shall be awarded to the first next candidate from the same coalition electoral list, who has not been awarded the mandate of the deputy.
A candidate who has been awarded a deputy’s mandate, but whose mandate has been terminated due to assuming of position of the member of the Provincial Government, shall be awarded the mandate again, within the same Assembly session, under the following conditions:
- the candidate’s position of the member of the Provincial Government has ceased;
- there is a vacant deputy’s position belonging to the same electoral list;
- the candidate has submitted a request for awarding of deputy’s mandates to the Provincial Electoral Commission.
When a deputy’s mandate terminates before the expiry of the period for which they have been elected, as in cases referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, and the electoral list from which the candidate has been elected, has no other candidate for whom the submitter of the electoral list has not gained a mandate, the mandate shall belong to the submitter of the electoral list who has the next highest quotient for which they have not been awarded a mandate.
The mandate of the new deputy shall last until the expiration of the mandate of the deputy whose mandate has been terminated.
In cases referred to in Paragraphs 2, 3 and 5 of this Article, prior to the verification of mandates, candidates shall be required to provide a written statement of acceptance of the mandate.
VII DETERMINATION AND ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE TOTAL ELECTION RESULTS
Article 52
The Provincial Electoral Commission shall determine and announce the total election results within 96 hours from the moment of closure of polling places.
The total election results shall be published in the Official Journal of APV.
VIII TERMINATION OF MANDATES
Article 53
A deputy’s mandate shall terminate before the expiry of the period for which they were elected, in the following cases:
1. in case of resignation;
2. if they have been sentenced to an unconditional imprisonment of at least six months’ duration by means of the final judgement;
3. if they have been deprived of legal capacity by means of the final judgement;
4. in case of assuming a duty, that is function, which is incompatible with the deputy’ s function, pursuant to the law, that is this Decision;
5. if they lose domicile on the territory of the Province;
6. if they lose their citizenship;
7. in case of death.
A deputy shall personally tender in their resignation, certified by the competent authority in charge of certification of signatures, to the President of the Assembly, within three days from the day of certification.
A deputy’s mandate shall terminate on the day of occurrence of cases, referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.
The day of the termination of a deputy’s mandate shall be confirmed at the first next session upon the receipt of the notification of reasons for terminating the deputy’s mandate.
IX PROTECTION OF THE RIGHT TO VOTE
Article 54
The bodies in charge of the election conduction shall inform voters about their rights to vote and methods of protection of those rights, during the election procedure.
Article 55
Every voter, candidate, submitter of the electoral list shall be entitled to file a complaint to the competent election committee against the infringement of the right to vote or election procedure.
Each member of the polling committee may file a complaint to the competent election committee against the infringement of the right to vote or election procedure which has occurred at the polling place.
The complaint shall be filed within 24 hours from the issuing of decision or performing the action which the complainant considers irregular, or from the moment an omission has occurred.
Article 56
The competent election committee shall issue a decision within 48 hours from the receipt of the complaint and send it to the complainant.
If the competent election committee accepts the complaint, it shall revoke a decision or action.
If the competent election committee fails to issue a decision on the complaint within deadlines stipulated by this Decision, the complaint shall be considered to be accepted.
Article 57
An appealmay be filed to the competent court against the decision of the competent election committee refusing or rejecting the complaint, even against the decision accepting the complaint.
The appeal should be filed through the competent election committee within 48 hours from the receipt of the decision.
The election committee is obliged to submit the appeal and all required documents to the competent court, within 24 hours from the receipt of the appeal.
Article 58
If the court accepts the appeal, relevant election procedure, i.e. the elections, shall be repeated within 10 days.
X OBSERVERS
Article 59
Interested representatives of national non-governmental organisations, other states, relevant international organisations, national and international media (hereinafter: observers) may monitor the entire course of elections, activities of the bodies in charge of the election conduction and determination of the election results.
Article 60
The bodies in charge of the election conduction shall enable observers to monitor the course of elections and activities of the bodies in charge of the election conduction and their presence shall be entered in the records.
Article 61
Observers may be present during the performance of activities of the bodies in charge for the election conduction, without the right to participate in them.
Article 62
The Provincial Electoral Commission shall adopt the Directive on the method of conduction of provisions from Article 59 to 61 of this Decision.
XI COSTS FOR THE CONDUCTION OF ELECTIONS
Article 63
Financial resources for the purpose of operations of bodies in charge of the election conduction, election material and other election conduction costs shall be provided in the Provincial Budget, within the limits of financial resources allocated in the budget of the Assembly.
Petitions and actions in the election procedures shall be tax free.
XII PENAL PROVISIONS
Article 64
Pecuniary penalty from 5000 to 50,000 RSD shall be imposed for an offence on the organisation acting contrary to provisions of Article 24 of this Decision.
For the offence from paragraph 1 of this Article, the responsible person of the organisation shall be punished by pecuniary penalty from 250 to 25, 000 RSD.
For the offence from paragraph 1 of this Article, the person who has announced the election results predictions or previous election results shall be punished by pecuniary penalty from 250 to 25, 000 RSD.
Article 65
Pecuniary penalty from 5000 to 500,000 RSD shall be imposed for an offence on the political party or other political organisation (or other legal entity) which has displayed symbols of political parties or other political organisations, as well as other promotional materials, contrary to provisions of Article 22 paragraph 9 of this Decision.
For offences referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, the responsible person of the political organisation (or other legal entity) shall be punished by pecuniary penalty from 250 to 25, 000 RSD.
Article 66
Pecuniary penalty from 250 to 25, 000 RSD shall be imposed for an offence on the person who has used mobile phone or other communication device at the polling place (Article 22, paragraph 10 of this Decision).
Article 67
Pecuniary penalty from 250 to 25, 000 RSD shall be imposed for an offence on the person who has remained longer than necessary at the polling place, unless they have rights and duties stipulated by this Decision (Article 22, paragraph 11 of this Decision).
XIII TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 68
On the day of entering into force of this Decision, the Provincial Assembly Decision on the Election of Deputies to the Assembly of AP Vojvodina shall no longer be in effect (“Official Journal of AP Vojvodina”, no.3/2012).
Article 69
On the day of entering into force of this Decision, the Provincial Assembly Decision on Electoral Units for the Election of Deputies to the Assembly of AP Vojvodina shall no longer be in effect (“Official Journal of AP Vojvodina”, no.12/2004, 16/2004-corrected and 18/2009-change of the name of the act).
Article 70
This Decision shall enter into force eight days upon being published in “The Official Journal of APV”.
THE ASSEMBLY OF THE AUTONOMOUS PROVINCE OF VOJVODINA
Novi Sad, 6 June 2014
PRESIDENT OF THE
ASSEMBLY OF THE AP VOJVODINA
Pásztor István, signed
(Pásztor István, s.k.)