The exemption of national minorities from the threshold, based on Article 14 of the Constitution, is not in contradiction with international standards. Serbia has ratified the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. Article 15 of that convention requires member states to allow for the “effective participation of persons belonging to national minorities in […] public affairs”. “Special rules guaranteeing national minorities reserved seats or providing for exceptions to the normal seat allocation criteria for parties representing national minorities (for instance, exemption from a quorum requirement) do not in principle run counter to equal suffrage.”