On February 8, the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation refused to register Boris Nadezhdin as a candidate for the post of the country's president due to the "forgery" of some of the collected signatures. His participation in the elections could be used to simulate a fair victory for Putin, improve his image in democratic states and avoid further international isolation. However, the refusal to register Nadezhdin, whom Western media have already called an "anti-war" candidate, is also designed to create a false impression that elections in Russia are held in accordance with laws and international norms.

The first month of 2024 was marked by Russia’s strong information operations. The Kremlin has been using all available media platforms to drive a wedge between the people and the government of Ukraine, while denying the existence of Ukrainian identity. At the same time, Russia pretends to be interested in negotiations to buy some time and divert the world community’s attention away from the war in Ukraine. However, the aggressive actions and intentions of Russian ultra-nationalists forced Europe to give serious consideration to the threat of direct military confrontation with the Russian Federation.

Since the summer of 2023, the threats and challenges of holding elections under martial law have become a hot topic of legal and political debate. In this discourse, there should be less politics and more policy. This was stated by the Chair of the Board of Civil Network OPORA Olha Aivazovska during the presentation of White Book on the preparation and conduct of post-war elections, which was jointly organized by the Centre of Policy and Legal Reforms, Civil Network OPORA and their partners on January 25, 2024.

After publishing the reports about the falsifications at the snap parliamentary election in Serbia. representatives of the Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability (CRTA) have been suffering from threats and have become the objects of disinformation attacks from the current government and pro-Russian accounts in social media. 

The Global Network of Domestic Election Monitors (GNDEM) expresses its deep concern with increasing attacks on the nonpartisan citizen election observers, the Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability (CRTA), in Serbia following the December 2023 snap elections. These attacks from government officials and security forces threaten the ability of CRTA to legally observe elections and puts their safety at risk. The situation reflects significant worsening of conditions for citizen election observers and wider civil society actors and human rights defenders in Serbia.

Another year is getting to a close. It’s the second year of the full-scale Russian invasion and the tenth year of the russia’s war in Ukraine. A year of hard work, huge effort, and immense resilience and indomitability. We are most grateful to the Armed Forces of Ukraine who have made this year possible for us. We especially appreciate our colleagues who defend democratic values with the arms in their hands. Our priorities are steadfast. It is PARTICIPATION, SECURITY, and JUSTICE. They are deeply embedded into OPORA’s each and every activity, from the usual election observation and improvement of electoral law to documenting war crimes and monitoring migration processes.