GIK Niš spoke up: It is absolutely untrue that for ten days there are no minutes from Niš on the RIK website

We transmit the statement in its entirety.

"Due to the scandalous claims made by the lawyer Sofija Mandić in the show 'Behind the news' on N1 television on Wednesday, June 12, 2024, that the minutes of the polling boards on the conduct of voting in the local elections in Nis, held on June 2, 2024, are not available to the public , the City Election Commission is obliged to react in this way and strongly deny such falsehoods. Namely, it is absolutely untrue that 'for ten days there is not a single report from Niš on the website of the Republic Election Commission'. It is true that the City Election Commission, in accordance with its legal obligation, began to publish the scanned records from the polling stations in Niš during the election night, just a few hours after the closing of the polling stations, which is all extremely easy to verify through the web presentation of the Republic Election Commission (RIK), considering that, in accordance with the law, the date and time of its publication are indicated with each record.

In addition, the aforementioned lawyer, who, according to the knowledge of the City Election Commission, was herself a member of a local election commission, more precisely the City Election Commission of the city of Belgrade, stated another falsehood, that, apart from the minutes, no objections were published on the web presentation of the RIK submitted by the submitters of Nis opposition electoral rolls to the City Election Commission, as well as the appeals filed against the City Election Commission to the High Court in Nis. If it was someone else, and not a lawyer with experience in the work of local election administration, we would have thought that it was a problem of not finding the web presentation of the REC.

However, the fact that such gross untruths were presented precisely by Sofija Mandić nevertheless indicates that it is a question of participation in several days of conscious and systematic confusing and alarming of the public, all with the aim of increasing pressure on the work of not only the City Election Commission, but, which is perhaps even more dangerous, to the work of the High Court in Niš, as well. 

Therefore, the City Election Commission hereby informs the public that all records of the work of polling boards in the city of Nis have been duly published on the web presentation of the REC, within the sub-page Records of the work of polling boards, which can be accessed via a link on the home page of the web presentation www. rik.parlament.gov.rs and which can be searched by entering the name of the city municipalities of the city of Niš.

As for objections and appeals, they are also available on the same web presentation, within the register of objections subpage, where the decisions of the City Election Commission made on each of the submitted objections are also available.

On this occasion, we would like to ask lawyer Sofija Mandić how is it possible that the local opposition in Niš could file objections and appeals if the minutes of the polling committees were not made public through the RIK web presentation?!

Despite all the pressures and inappropriate influences on its work, the City Election Commission remains dedicated and firm in its determination to bring the current election process in Niš to the end in accordance with the legal regulations and with absolute respect for the electoral will of the citizens of Niš expressed in the democratic and free elections held on June 2, 2024."