Serbia | International IDEA

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Question	Value
Legal provisions for mandatory referendums at national level	Yes
Legal provisions for optional referendums at national level	Yes
Legal provisions for citizens' initiatives at national level	Yes
Legal provisions for agenda initiatives at national level	Yes
Legal provisions for recall at national level	No
Legal provisions for direct democracy at the regional level	Mandatory referendum Optional referendum
Legal provisions for direct democracy at the local level	Mandatory referendum Optional referendum Citizens Agenda initiative
Legal basis for direct democracy at the national level	Constitutional Specific laws/legislation
Legal basis for administrative requirements at the national level	Specific laws/legislation
Who administers direct democracy mechanisms at the national level?	Independent electoral commission
First referendum/initiative held	1990
Has there been a national referendum since 1980?	Yes

Question	Value
Issues in relation to which referendums are mandatory at the national level	Constitutional amendments
Issues in relation to which referendums are optional at the national level	Any issue of national importance, except those excluded
Issues excluded from being the subject of referendums at the national level	Taxes and public expenditure commitments Amnesty and pardon Duties deriving from international contracts Laws pertaining to human and minority rights and freedoms Introduction of the state of emergency Issues pertaining to election competences of the National Assembly
Issues of sub-national referendums regulated at the national level	Creation/merger/abolition of sub-national territories
Who can initiate an optional referendum at the national level?	Government Legislative majority Registered electors
Who drafts the referendum question?	Mandatory referendum - Legislature Mandatory referendum - Registered electors Optional referendum - Legislature Optional referendum - Registered electors
Who decides on the final form of the ballot text?	The committee of the National Assembly competent for constitutional issues (after consultations with electoral commission)
Quorum requirements for a referendum to be valid	No quorum requirements
Requirements for a referendum to pass	Mandatory referendum - simple majority Optional referendum - simple majority
Are referendum results binding?	Mandatory referendum - sometimes Optional referendum - never

Question	Value
Issues that can be proposed by citizens using the initiative process at the national level	Citizens' initiatives - constitutional amendments Citizens' initiatives - legislative proposals Citizens' initiatives - other issues Agenda initiatives - constitutional amendments Agenda initiatives - legislative proposals Agenda initiatives - other issues
Issues excluded from being the subject of an initiative at the national level	Taxes and public expenditure commitments Amnesty and pardon Duties deriving from international contracts Laws pertaining to human and minority rights and freedoms Introduction of the state of emergency Issues pertaining to election competences of the National Assembly
Who may propose the registration of an initiative?	Citizens' initiative - a number of individuals Agenda initiative - a number of individuals
Materials to accompany an application for registration	General explanation of the purpose Full proposed text
Who determines the title of an initiative?	Not specified by legislation
What disqualifies a proposed title of an initiative?	Not specified by legislation
Who is responsible for checking the legality of initiatives?	Legislature
At which stage legality check is conducted?	After its submission but before the registration of an initiative
Who decides the final ballot text when the initiative is put to a vote?	Legislature
When does voting take place once an initiative is qualified for ballot?	Not specified by legislation

Question	Value
Which individuals/positions may be subject to the recall?
What are the grounds for recall?
What restrictions are there in relation to the time period in which an individual or position can be recalled?
When is the recall put to the vote?
When does the election to replace an individual who has been recalled take place?
Can an individual who is the subject of a recall stand on the ballot for his/her own replacement?

Question	Value
How many signatures are required to start the formal decision making stage of a direct democracy mechanism?	Referendum - fixed number Citizens' Initiative - fixed number Agenda Initiative - fixed number
What is the deadline for collecting required number of signatures?	Referendum - fixed time period Citizens' Initiative - fixed time period Agenda Initiative - fixed time period
Restrictions in relation to the individuals who can sign the proposal	Referendum - signatories must be registered Citizens' Initiative - signatories must be registered Agenda Initiative - signatories must be registered
Where can proposals be signed?	Anywhere Electronically
What information must signatories provide when signing the proposal?	Not specified by legislation
Restrictions in relation to signature collection	Not specified by legislation
What forms of checks are undertaken to verify signatures?	Not specified by legislation
Who checks the signatures?	Agency responsible for the administration of direct democracy mechanisms

Disclaimer: Maps presented do not imply on the part of the Institute any judgement on the legal status of any territory or the endorsement of such boundaries, nor does the placement or size of any country or territory reflect the political view of International IDEA. Maps are used in order to add visual clarity to data.