Serbia’s Leading Independent Election Watchdog CRTA joins EPDE

The European Platform for Democratic Elections (EPDE) is proud to announce that CRTA, Serbia’s leading independent election watchdog, has joined the platform.

On 17 September 2026, the EPDE General Assembly unanimously confirmed CRTA’s membership, making CRTA the platform’s first member organization from the Western Balkans.

“We are happy to see EPDE grow with one of the most experienced and capable election observation organizations in the Western Balkans, where they do crucial work of election monitoring in an increasingly difficult civic space. With CRTA as an EPDE member, we will be stronger in defending and promoting democratic elections in Europe.” – Stefanie Schiffer, Chair of the Board of the EPDE

CRTA joins EPDE at a critical moment: ahead of a pivotal Serbian parliamentary election on 25 October 2026, the organization has faced an intensifying public defamation campaign. This includes a campaign named “NGO Hydra”, which promotes the idea of a “Foreign Agent” law, citing CRTA as an example of the kind of organization that would fall under such regulation. Similar legislation introduced in Russia over a decade ago led to severe restrictions on civil society involved in monitoring political and social processes and, first and foremost, election observation.

About CRTA

CRTA (Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability) is Serbia’s leading independent election and democracy watchdog, based in Belgrade. CRTA has monitored all major elections since 2016 and trained thousands of observers through its “Citizens on Watch” network. CRTA also runs transparency tools like Istinomer (“Truth-O-Meter”), which fact-checks politicians’ statements, and Otvoreni Parlament (“Open Parliament”), which tracks parliamentary work. In 2025, CRTA’s leadership launched EUCRTA, a Brussels-based organization extending its work to the EU level.