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Serbia
Women in decision-making positions
38%
Members of local deliberative bodies are women (2,324 elected women)
Head of Government is a woman
Prime Minister: Ana Brnabić
35%
Parliamentarians are women
36%
Ministers are women

Government organization

Serbia is a unitary republic with three spheres of government: central, intermediate (the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina), and local.

One tier of central government, one tier of partial intermediate government composed of Autonomous provinces and one tier of local government composed of municipalities, cities and the city of Belgrade.
Central government
  • Head of State: The President is directly elected by voters.
  • Head of Government: The Prime Minister is proposed by the President to be elected by the National Assembly.
  • Legislative body: The National Parliament is a unicameral legislature whose members are directly elected by voters.
  • Executive body: The Government consists of the Prime Minister, one or more vice presidents, and ministers presented by the Prime Minister to be elected by the National Assembly.
Autonomous Province of Vojvodina government
  • Legislative body: The Assembly of Vojvodina is a unicameral legislature whose members are directly elected by voters.
  • Executive body: The Provincial Government is composed of the Provincial President, vice-presidents, and other members proposed by the Provincial President to be elected by the Assembly of Vojvodina. The Provincial President is proposed by the Assembly President to be elected by the Assembly of Vojvodina.

Note: The Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Serbia. The Republic of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence and has been recognized as an independent state by 112 out of 193 member states of the United Nations.

Local government
  • Organization: Local government is organized into one tier of 28 city-level local government units, 145 municipalities, and the City of Belgrade. Cities are urban areas that have a population of over 100,000 inhabitants. Municipalities are areas that have a population of 10,000-100,000 inhabitants. The City of Belgrade is a special territorial unit of local self-government, established by Constitution and law.
  • Competencies: Local government is responsible for levying taxes, managing its own assets, and passing statutes and regulations regarding local planning and development, social welfare, and infrastructure, in accordance with laws of the central government.
  • Ministerial oversight: Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government

Overview of local government

Local government composition
City of Belgrade, city, and municipal-level government (Град Београд /градови/ општине)

Deliberative body: The city/municipal assembly (Скупштина града/ Град Београд) is composed of 19-110 elected members. The assembly president (Председник Скупштине) is elected by and from the assembly to preside over it; the assembly president is not vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The city/municipal council (градско веће/ Општинско веће) is composed of 5-13 members elected by and from the city/municipal assembly, including the mayor/municipal president (Градоначелник/ председник општине). Members of the city/municipal council cannot be members of the city/municipal assembly.

Local government elections
Electoral system

Electoral system for deliberative bodies: proportional representation (closed list)

  • Serbia uses a closed party-list proportional electoral system, with a 3% threshold and according to the d’Hondt method of seat allocation, for local deliberative body elections. This threshold is waived for minority lists. Elections for councilors shall be conducted in the municipality as a single electoral unit.

Electoral system for mayors or municipal presidents: no direct elections

  • The Mayor or municipal president is elected by and from assembly members.

Source: Law on local Elections, 2022, articles 5, 61 and 78

Quotas

Gender quotas: Legislated candidate quotas, ranking/placement, sanctions

  • There must be at least 40% of members of the underrepresented sex on the electoral list, so that among every five candidates in the order on the list there must be three members of one and two members of the other sex.
  • The Election Commission issues a decision declaring, rejecting or refusing to declare the electoral list, as well as a conclusion ordering the submitter of the electoral list to eliminate the shortcomings of the electoral list.

Additional quotas: No

Source: Law on Local Elections, 2022, articles 25 and 41

Term of elections
  • Term length: 4 years
  • Last local elections: 2020 (in cities and municipalities); 2022 (in the City of Belgrade)
  • Next local elections: 2024 (in cities and municipalities); 2026 (in the City of Belgrade)
Electoral management body

Republic Electoral Commission; City Election Commission (for the City of Belgrade); municipal electoral commissions

National legal framework on local government
National legal framework
  • Constitution of Serbia, 2006 (amended through 2022);
  • Statute of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, 2014;
  • Statute of the Municipality of Ruma, 2014 (amended through 2019);
  • Vojvodina Provincial Assembly Decision on Gender Equality, 2009;
  • Statute of the City of Belgrade, 2008 (amended through 2019);
  • Law on Local Elections, 2022;
  • Law on Local Self-Government, 2007 (amended through 2021).
Constitutional provisions on local government

There are constitutional provisions that establish local government in Serbia. According to Article 188 of the Constitution of Serbia of 2006, “local self-government units shall be municipalities, towns and the City of Belgrade.”

Legislative provisions on local government

The National Parliament is responsible for establishing the legal framework on local government. The key pieces of legislation which regulate local government are the Statute of the City of Belgrade of 2008 (amended through 2019) and the Law on Local Self-Government of 2022. According to Article 2 of the Law on Local Self-Government, “local self-government is the right of citizens to directly and through freely chosen representatives manage public affairs of immediate, common, and general interest for the local population, as well as the right and obligation of local self-government bodies to plan, regulate, and manage public affairs in accordance with the law in their jurisdiction and interests for the local population.”

Sources:

1. UN Women: Data on share of women in local government as of 1 January 2023.

2. UN Women: Information on Head of State and Government as of 3 October 2023.

3. Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU): Data on share of women in the single/lower chamber of parliament as of 1 January 2023.

4. IPU and UN Women: Data on share of women in ministerial positions as of 1 January 2023.

5. Information on local government organization as of 1 January 2023.