NGO Campaign for Higher Voter Turnout

10 January 2008

The Federation of NGOs in Serbia FeNS will call the citizens to turn out at the polls in as high a number as possible, said Miljenko Dereta from the Civic Initaitives, and to support a pro-European candidate.

According to analyses of the NGO sector, for elections after 2000, such campaign have resulted in five to ten percent increase in voter turnout.

- In some cases, it was the decisive factor that led to the victory for democratic candidates, says Dereta.

He noted that in the first round, FeNS will conduct a low-profile campaign and depending on the results, the campaign may intensify in the period between the two rounds, directed primarily at the youth, women and educated voters who are most likely to abstain.

The organizations wouldn�t mention any names of actual candidates, but would support policies that promote the continuation of the road to Europe.

The civil sector will initiate and organize debates with youth to allow them to define their own priorities which will then be submitted to the candidates that enter the second round.

The first round of 2008 Presidential Elections is scheduled for January 20, with nine candidates entering the list verified by the State Election Commission.