Electoral Rules and Minority Representation in Serbian Parliamentary Elections

Frequent changes of electoral rules have been the hallmark of Serbian democracy since the reintroduction of multiparty system in 1990. Serbia experimented with different electoral systems: from majority system, to different variations of proportional representation, and finally – a single constituency proportional system with 5% threshold. During these changes, the level of representation of ethnic minorities in the National Assembly varied, reaching its historical low in the 2003 elections. Having in mind the share of minorities in total population of Serbia (close to 15%), the situation called for a legislative action in creating the positive discrimination mechanism for enhancing minority representation. The 2004 amendments to the electoral law repealed the 5% barrier for minority parties, introducing the so-called „natural threshold“. Although this solution subsequently improved the minority representation, several problems persisted. The paper will aim to examine the effects of 2004 changes on minority representation. Authors will review the alternative mechanisms found in similar countries, and will also compare the outcomes of different electoral systems applied in Serbia in the post-1990 period, in order to assess the impact of electoral rules not just on minority representation in Serbian parliament, but also on the quality of Serbian democracy as a whole