Turnout was low in the Serbian constitutional referendum on Sunday, which officially declared 25.25 percent of those eligible to vote by 6pm.
The constitutional amendment relates to a part of the Serbian Constitution relating to the appointment of judges and prosecutors. The current constitution requires Parliament to approve the appointment of judges and prosecutors, which goes against EU standards. If judges and prosecutors are appointed by Parliament, the judiciary cannot be said to be independent, according to a referendum.
People had to answer yes or no to support the parliamentary decision to amend the Serbian constitution. If the majority of citizens vote in favor of it, the constitution will be supplemented by amendments previously passed by Parliament, but if a gender majority is reached, the entire referendum process will have to be repeated, but the relevant law will not allow any further procedure within four years to hold a referendum.
The referendum campaign was not robust, with the ruling parties arguing yes, while the opposition said it should have been voted “no” because the information was insufficient or the planned changes were insufficient.
There was no minimum validity for the referendum this time, the Serbian House of Representatives decided to end it last year.
A total of 6510,323 voters were able to vote between 7 am and 8 pm, and the Election Commission has 96 hours to announce the final results of the referendum.
(MTI)
