Members of the REM Council Spoke with Representatives of the ODIHR Mission

Representatives of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) met on 9 July, at the premises of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM), with REM Council members Miloš Garić, Stevica Smederevac, and Milan Petković, as well as Director Rajka Galin Ćertić.

At the meeting, which aimed for ODIHR Mission representatives Ulvi Akhundlu and Martina Barker-Ciganikova to assess pre-election conditions ahead of the announced snap parliamentary elections in Serbia, REM Director Galin Ćertić briefed them on the existing legislation and the obligations of media service providers regarding the election campaign, in line with the adopted bylaws, long-standing practice to date, and developed election monitoring methodology.

She pointed out that the Regulator has sufficient capacity and specialised software that enables the monitoring of the election campaign in Serbia across electronic media programmes.

Council members Miloš Garić, Stevica Smederevac, and Milan Petković, responding to questions about the future of the Council’s work, presented their observations on the current situation and expressed concern over the inability to function and make decisions due to the lack of the necessary number of Council members.

They emphasised that, for the efficient implementation of the Law on Electronic Media, it is extremely important to fill the vacant seats on the Council urgently so that this body can begin operating.

It was concluded that the professional services had worked on preparing all documents during the previous period, and that all materials are ready for the efficient implementation of the Law as soon as all members elected in November last year join the Council.

The Mission representatives expressed their gratitude for the constructive discussion and wished for the next meeting to be held once the REM Council becomes fully operational.