Kristin Melsom was appointed as the Ambassador of Norway to Serbia, North Macedonia, and Montenegro in August 2023. Kristin Melsom previously served as the Director and Head of the Section for Southeast Europe in the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Before that role, Ms. Melsom was the Minister Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission at
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Arnaud Mercier is a high-ranking civil servant in France and a former student of the French École Nationale d’Administration (ENA). He specializes in the electoral field. At the French Ministry of the Interior, he prepared the presidential and legislative elections in 2022, and then the senatorial elections in 2023. He currently holds the position of
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Emanuele Giaufret has been appointed the EU Ambassador to Serbia in September 2021. He took this position after serving four years as the EU Ambassador to Israel. Previous to that he served at European External Action Service as the Head of the Division for Democracy and Electoral Observation and as Political Assistant to the Managing
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Edward Ferguson took over as His Majesty’s Ambassador to Serbia in July 2023. Before coming to Belgrade, Edward served as the Minister Counsellor Defence at the British Embassy in Washington DC in September 2018. Together with the Defence Attaché, he led the British Defence Staff (United States), a network of 1,000 people spread across 28
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David Krstić is a master’s degree lawyer, a doctoral candidate at the Faculty of Law, University of Belgrade, in the field of constitutional law, and a legal associate at CRTA. He is part of CRTA’s legal team and has monitored the work of election management bodies during the 2023 and 2024 elections. He participated in
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Saša Simović is the Assistant Director for Legal Affairs at the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media, with experience in media law, European law, and the rule of law. Previously, Simović worked as a legal expert in the cabinet of the Chief Negotiator with the EU, where he participated in preparing and drafting negotiation positions and
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Vladimir Erceg is a political scientist, public policy researcher, and program manager at the CRTA organization. He was a member of the electoral forensic team during the 2023 and 2024 elections. He leads the Open Parliament team, which focuses on improving the transparency and integrity of the National Assembly. He facilitates the work of the
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Vojislav Mihailović is a political scientist and the director of public opinion research at the CRTA organization. In addition to conducting public opinion research, he led CRTA’s analytical team during the observation missions for the parliamentary elections in December 2023 and the Belgrade elections in June 2024. He was also a member of the electoral
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Marija Pesic is a Project Manager and certified Youth Worker with a proven track record as a community leader, dedicated to fostering the personal, social, and professional development of individuals. Passionate about elections, particularly in the area of independent civic monitoring of the electoral process. As a devoted local patriot, she believes that Bor can
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Vladimir Dimitrijević is the president of the Republic Electoral Commission of the Republic of Serbia. He graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Belgrade in 1999. He successfully completed his postgraduate studies on the topic of business entities and public enterprises, defending his master’s thesis in 2012 and his doctoral dissertation in
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Brankica Janković, Master of Laws, was first elected as the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality of the Republic of Serbia in May 2015 and re-elected in November 2020 by the National Assembly. Prior to her election, she served as the State Secretary in the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Policy from 2012 to
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Alexander Cherkasov is a prominent human rights defender and former chair of the Memorial Human Rights Center, one of Russia’s oldest and most respected human rights organizations. With over two decades of experience, Cherkasov has been instrumental in documenting abuses, particularly in conflict zones such as Chechnya and the North Caucasus. His work has focused
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Zsuzsanna Kunos is a Legal Officer of the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU). She has been working in the Political Freedoms Program of HCLU for three years, where she gained expertise in topics such as election rights, assembly rights and freedom of expression. She earned her Doctor of Law (JD) degree at Eötvös Loránd University
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Zsófia Fülöp is an award-winning Hungarian journalist at Lakmusz, the country’s first dedicated fact-checking site. She joined the team in May 2023 and covers the pressing problems of the social and health systems, press freedom and democracy, as well as political and social issues in her wider region, from a disinformation perspective. Previously, she worked
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Zsófia Banuta is the co-founder and Director of Unhack Democracy. She began her career as an international journalist for CNBC, where she reported on business and economic topics across Europe, with a particular focus on the new EU member states. She earned her international MBA at IE Business School in Madrid, where she developed her
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Zselyke Csaky is a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, covering EU institutions, elections, rule of law, and democracy. Before joining the CER, she was a Policy Leader Fellow at the European University Institute (EUI) and served as research director at Freedom House, where she oversaw governance, media, and democracy projects in
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Zoran Stamenković is one of the founders of the Center for Development of Pomoravlje (CRP). His key qualities are objectivity and transparency, and he is known as a strong advocate for justice and democracy. This life philosophy led him to the idea of founding an organization that brought together like-minded individuals, and as a team,
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Dr. Zlatko Vujovic serves as the Executive Director of the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations (ENEMO) and previously held the position of Secretary General of ENEMO from 2017 to 2022. He also holds prominent roles in global election monitoring initiatives, acting as Deputy Chair of the Board of Directors of the Global Network of
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Željko Bakalar is a member of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He holds a degree in law from the Faculty of Law at the University of Mostar, where he defended his thesis in Constitutional Law on the topic of the Electoral System of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He worked as a civil servant,
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Zekerija Mujkanovic is the Chief Prosecutor of the Brčko District. He graduated from the Faculty of Law in Sarajevo. He has held the position of Chief Prosecutor of the Brčko District Prosecutor’s Office since 2001. In addition, he served as a judge and president of the Municipal Court in Brčko, temporarily located in Maoča, from
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Vukosava Crnjanski is a Founder and Director of the Serbia’s advocacy and watchdog organization CRTA, established in 2002. CRTA’s work is aimed towards supporting democratization and European integration of Serbia, by raising and strengthening the demand for an open, accountable and democratic government. She has extensive understanding and expertise in fostering democratization gained through engagement
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Vujo Ilic is a Research Fellow and Assistant Director at the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade. He holds a PhD in Political Science from Central European University in Budapest, with a specialization in comparative politics. His research interests include democracy, elections and political participation, as well as political conflicts and violence,
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Typhaine Roblot is the senior legal and justice advisor for the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES). She is an expert on democratic law reform, regulatory development and the resolution of political and electoral disputes. She worked across IFES programs in every continent for more than a decade, with long-term missions in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Nepal,
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Tsveta Petrova is a member of the Faculty of Political Sciences and the Faculty Advisor to MA students at the European Institute at Columbia University, USA. Dr. Petrova’s work focuses on the intersection of domestic politics and international relations, addressing key issues related to democracy, democratization, and democracy promotion. Her book, From Solidarity to Geopolitics:
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Tamara Branković is a dedicated activist, political scientist, and the Deputy Program Director at CRTA. At the heart of her work lies the coordination with CRTA’s research, policy, and legal teams, all unified in their mission to evaluate Serbia’s democracy health. This encompasses everything from scrutinizing the integrity of elections and the accountability of Serbia’s
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Svetlana Slapšak is literary historian, anthropologist, classical philologist, and writer. She graduated, obtained her master’s degree, and earned her PhD in Ancient Studies from the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Belgrade. She has taught at numerous universities in former Yugoslavia, Europe, and the United States. She was a full professor of anthropology of
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Stefan Janjic is an assistant professor of Media Studies at the University of Novi Sad and editor of FakeNews Tragač. He holds degrees in journalism and communication, and a PhD in social sciences and humanities. Janjić has received multiple awards for academic excellence and media professionalism, including honors from the Faculty of Philosophy (Best Student
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Dr Snježana Milivojević is Professor of Communication. She served as dean of Bayan College, Purdue University NW USA affiliate in Oman, during the academic 2022-2023. Prior to that she was a long-time professor at the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Political Sciences where she chaired Doctoral program in Culture and Media, MA program in
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Roman Udot is a seasoned election observer, data analyst, and forensic expert who has been monitoring elections in Russia and abroad since 2004. As co-chair of Golos, Russia’s leading election monitoring organization, and a member of ENEMO’s Secretariat, Udot has been instrumental in exposing fraud and advocating for fair elections. His extensive work—ranging from deploying
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Raša Nedeljkov, CRTA Program Director, has been managing CRTA’s programs since 2013. Since 2016, he has been acting as a Chief of the CRTA’s election observation mission, responsible for the overall coordination and leadership of the mission’s teams and operations within monitoring of election campaigns and voting processes during presidential, parliamentary, city and several local
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As the Creative Director of CRTA, Radovan Kupres is in charge of campaigns aimed at strengthening democratic culture and civic activism. Prior to joining CRTA, he had extensive experience in the fields of media and communications, starting his career as journalist and editor in most respectable national media (print, TV, radio), and continuing it in
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Pavle Dimitrijevic is a lawyer from Belgrade. Over twenty years he has been working in civil society organisations as well as in international organisations in Montenegro, Serbia and in Kosovo. Pavle is the head of the CRTA’s legal team since 2016. He created analytical documents of the CRTA’s election observation mission and leads all CRTA’s
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Pavel Cabacenco is the Senior Regional Election Advisor at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), bringing over 16 years of global expertise in electoral processes. A seasoned specialist in election administration, Cabacenco has delivered technical assistance and analytical support in international election observation missions and election assistance projects across more than 15 countries spanning
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Óscar Sánchez Muñoz is a Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Valladolid (Spain) and has been developing his academic career for thirty years. His research interests focus on electoral law, political finance, political parties, freedom of expression and federalism. He is the author of 108 publications. His books on “The regulation of election
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Oriana Ivković Novokmet is Gong’s executive director, who coordinates, designs and implements activities in the areas of anti-corruption, elections and the digital society. Her area of interest is the fight against corruption, good governance and public policies. She graduated in journalism from the Faculty of Political Sciences in Zagreb. For years, she worked as a
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Mustafa Kuleli is the vice president of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ). He has held various roles in journalism, including reporter, editor, writer, presenter, and television programmer for outlets such as Duvar, Diken, NTV, IMC TV, TV8, Hayat TV, and Evrensel. Following the Gezi protests in 2013, Kuleli was elected as the general secretary
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Milena Popovic is a journalist and media analyst with expertise in detecting and analyzing media manipulation. For the past five years, she has served as the editor-in-chief of Istinomer, a fact-checking platform under the non-governmental organization CRTA. Her work primarily focuses on fact-checking and research in the fields of manipulation and media policy. Before joining
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Michael Angeloni is a Research Associate at Protect Democracy, where he contributes to efforts aimed at curbing executive overreach and defending the rule of law. He holds a B.A. in Politics and International Affairs from Wake Forest University and an M.A. in Government from Georgetown University, with a research focus on global democratic backsliding and
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Masaaki Higashijima is an associate professor of comparative politics at the Institute of Social Science, University of Tokyo. He is currently affiliated with the Ellison Center for Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies at the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington. Previously, he taught and conducted research at
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Marko Nikolić has been a member of the CRTA’s election observation network since 2018. He has participated in all social events since 1989, always on the side of democratization in Serbia. He believes that free elections are a prerequisite for a free citizen and a prosperous society. He advocates for a transparent and fair electoral
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Marko Milosavljevic is a full professor at the Department of Communication at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana. He is also a former vice-chair of the Committee of Experts on Media Environment and Reform (MSI-REF) at the Council of Europe, as well as a member of the Strategic Council for the Prevention of
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Marija Stefanovic (MA in Philology and Sociology) is the Qualitative Research Manager at the Center for Research, Transparency, and Accountability (CRTA). With extensive experience in qualitative research, her primary focus at CRTA includes investigating voter pressures and electoral clientelism. She is also engaged at the long-term observation team within CRTA’s Election Observation Mission.
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Marija Milošević Tanasijević is a political scientist, activist, and occasional election observer. She is one of the founders of the Res Publika association in Kragujevac. She is responsible for project preparation and management, tackling tedious administrative and financial tasks, as well as engaging in more interesting work that involves research and creativity. Truly dedicated to
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Maja Sever is a renowned Croatian journalist and television program editor. She studied at the Faculty of Political Science in Zagreb, majoring in journalism, while simultaneously working as a war reporter in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. She is the president of the Croatian Journalists’ Union and the European Journalist Foundation. She has built a
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Léna Perczel is a Legal Officer in the Political Freedoms Program of the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU) since October 2023. Her work focuses on freedom of speech, electoral law, particularly concerning gerrymandering, as well as GDPR issues from a journalistic perspective. She holds a Juris Doctor (JD) from Eötvös Loránd University. During her studies,
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Jovana Presic joined CRTA in 2018 and has been working as a project coordinator at its fact-checking media outlet Istinomer since March 2020. With a background in journalism and experience in print media, she coordinates projects aimed at media development and combating disinformation. Jovana has an in-depth understanding of the Serbian media landscape and information
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Jovana Djurbabic is the Communications Director at CRTA. Since 2012, Jovana has been focused on developing and implementing CRTA’s communication and outreach strategies. Jovana also serves as the Head of communications for CRTA’s election observation missions. Before joining CRTA in 2012, Jovana worked at one of the largest media buying and PR agencies in Serbia,
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Jovan Bliznakovski is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the Institute for Sociological, Political, and Juridical Research, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje. He holds a PhD in Political Studies from the University of Milan, Italy, and an MSc in Political Science from the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Bliznakovski’s current research focuses on
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Jelena Loncar is an associate professor at the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Belgrade, where she teaches courses in political sociology. She also teaches in the SIT Study Abroad program in Belgrade, Budapest, and Vienna, focusing on Comparative European Perspectives on Conflict and Democracy. Jelena earned her PhD from the University of
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Jelena Danilovic is an analyst at the Digital Forensic Center (DFC) of Atlantic Council of Montenegro which mission is to identify, explain, and counter the problem of foreign malign influence, malign information activities – disinformation, fake news, and narratives in both Montenegro and Western Balkan region. The focus of her work at the Digital Forensic
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Ivana Sokolović is a member of the Center for Development of Pomoravlje (CRP) and participated as an observer in the local elections in Svilajnac. The observation of these elections was organized by CRP, and she was previously part of the CRTA’s Election Observation Mission. She is also actively involved in other projects implemented by the
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Ivana Dragičević is an award-winning journalist currently working as a foreign policy columnist and commentator for N1, the exclusive CNN partner for the Adria-Balkan region. She is the author of the N1 Disinfo series, which addresses disinformation in the region as part of the Adriatic Digital Media Observatory. During 2022/2023, she was a fellow in
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Iva Nenadic is an assistant professor of media and digital policy at the University of Zagreb’s Faculty of Political Science and a research fellow at the European University Institute’s Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom. She studies media pluralism in the context of content moderation policies of online platforms, and related regulatory interventions. She
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Hrvoje Zovko is a journalist currently writing for the daily newspaper Večernji list, its weekend editions and the weekly Express. He has been member of the Croatian Journalists’ Association since 1997 and its president since 2018. For 26 years he worked at the Croatian National Television (HRT) where he reported from Afghanistan (2004 and 2012),
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Dusan Jordovic is the program manager at the organization CRTA. He has been with CRTA since its inception, where he, along with colleagues, developed Istinomer and the Open Parliament. For years, he has been involved in election observation, believing in the need to build citizens’ trust in the electoral process and to raise awareness about
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Dario Jovanovic is a Project Manager of the Centers for Civic Initiatives (CCI), one of the leading and the most influential civil society organizations (CSOs) in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Dario also serves as the Project Manager of the “Pod lupom – Coalition for Free and Fair Elections”, informal coalition that gathers 49 partner CSOs
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Cyril Kulenović is an election and political expert, specialized in civil and electoral registers implementation, maintenance and audit. He currently works as the Program Coordinator for technical support to Transitional Governments at the International Organization of the Francophonie. He studied political sciences and earned a master’s degree in geopolitical studies specializing in public administration modernization.
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Aleksandra Niksic has been the editor of BBC News in Serbian since November 2017. She has more than 35 years of experience in journalism, starting from her teenage years, covering conflicts in the former Yugoslavia and other war-affected regions, to modern challenges in digital media. She has worked for the American magazine Time, the British
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Boško Jakšić is a foreign affairs commentator and journalist. He graduated from the Faculty of Economics at the University of Belgrade. He worked at the daily newspaper Politika from 1972 until his retirement in 2014, spending the majority of his career in the foreign policy section. He covered numerous international events, reported from war zones
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Bojana Vlajović Savić is one of the founders and representatives of the Res Publika association. She remains in a dilemma about whether she is a journalist or an activist. She transitioned from a journalism career in the media to engagement in the civil sector, driven by the same motivation – to personally contribute to the
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Ana Martinoli is a full professor at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts (FDU) in Belgrade, focusing her research on digital media, audience development in a digital environment, content production, and management in online settings. She is the head of the Master’s program in Digital Transformation of Media and Culture at FDU, supported by the OSCE
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Milica Radovanović (NSI) is a researcher and project manager with extensive experience in policy research, human rights, and minority issues in Kosovo. Since 2016, she has been deeply engaged in research and journalism, with a particular focus on transitional justice and the rights of minority communities.
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Mahir Poljić, after completing his studies in economics at the University of Tuzla, directed his passion for positive social change towards working in the non-governmental sector. He currently serves as a project manager at the Centers for Civic Initiatives (CCI), one of the most influential NGO in Bosnia and Herzegovina, dedicated to strengthening democratic society
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Goran Ilić is the honorary president of the Association of Prosecutors and Deputy Prosecutors, the deputy president of the State Prosecutorial Council, the deputy Republic Public Prosecutor, and the Commissioner for Independence. He earned his doctorate in 2007 from the Faculty of Law in Niš, defending his dissertation on the topic “The Creation, Organization, and
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Ivan Shukshin is a Russian political analyst and civil society activist dedicated to promoting democracy and human rights. He has extensive experience working with election observation initiatives, advocating for transparent and fair electoral processes in Russia. Shukshin is ex-member of the Council of the regional branch of Golos in Krasnodar region. His work focuses on
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Bojana Lekić is a renowned journalist and experienced expert in media and communications. She has been involved in media for three decades, during which she has worked as a journalist, editor, and later as the Editor-in-Chief, deputy director and director at several national television stations. She is one of the authors of the most-watched television
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Francesco Ronchi is Administrator at the Directorate for Democracy Support of the European Parliament. Previously, he has been Deputy Chief of Staff in the office of the President of the Socialists and Democrats Group in the European Parliament. From 2011 to 2012 he served the United Nations as an electoral advisor in the Peace Building
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Agon Maliqi is a political analyst and media writer from Kosovo, based in Tirana, Albania. He was the co-founder and until recently the Chairman of the Board of Sbunker – an Albanian-language commentary and analysis blog as well as think tank working on democracy and security issues in the Western Balkans. Mr. Maliqi currently works
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Dragan Stanojević is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade. In 2015, he defended his PhD thesis on “The Shaping of New Fatherhood Through the Practices of Fathers in Serbia” at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade. With over 15 years of experience, he has conducted extensive social
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Predrag Cvetičanin is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Arts, University of Niš, where he teaches the Sociology of Culture. He also serves as the Director of the independent research institute, Center for Empirical Studies of Southeast European Culture. He graduated in Sociology at the Faculty of Philosophy in Niš. He completed his Master’s
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Aleksandar Novakoski is a lawyer by profession. Throughout his career, he has been a member of the Management Board of the Bar Association of the Republic of North Macedonia, and at various times held significant state positions such as the Secretary General of the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia and the President of
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The Kamerades collective was established in 2011 in Belgrade, with an aim to promote the values of documentary photography and its role in today’s society. The members are photojournalists and documentary photographers from Serbia who share the vision of documenting life as it is and spreading the awareness of the Balkans’ socially significant topics. The
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