The pre-election campaign silence began at midnight on Thursday and will remain in force until polling stations for the parliamentary elections close across Serbia at 8 pm on Sunday.
Oglas
The candidates, parties, and other political players running for parliament cannot do or say anything that was part of their campaigns in public for a period of 48 hours before polling stations open and during the 13 hours of voting. That includes program presentations and calls to vote for or against a particular electoral list and publication of projected election results.
Under Serbian law, violators can be fined 850 to 5,00 Euro for parties, movements or groups. Media officials responsible for breaches face fines of 425 to 1,275 Euro, while the persons responsible for violations in other legal entities may be fined 170 to 425 euros. Individuals face fines of 85 to 340 euros.
Eighteen electoral lists are competing for 250 seats in the Serbian parliament. They include the United Serbia coalition led by the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), the Student List – Students Win and several opposition groups and national minority parties.
Some other countries have similar practices – in France candidates can campaign until midnight on the eve of the election; in Italy restrictions include a longer ban on publishing opinion polls and a campaign silence period before voting; in Slovakia, a ban on publishing information for or against candidates applies during its silence period.
Teme