Although a greater interest of the diaspora in the election processes in Serbia can be noticed in public, especially after the student rebellion, our interlocutors point out that citizens in the diaspora are, on the one hand, often neglected by the authorities, while during voting they also face problems that are often of an operational nature.
Since the beginning of the student rebellion and their “excursions” abroad, Serbs in the diaspora have become more engaged in public, both through welcoming students and through organizing rallies in support of student demands. This was particularly pronounced during the students’ bicycle tour to Strasbourg, and the latest major action of the diaspora were the rallies under the name “The Diaspora Decides – Students Win”.
At that time, rallies were held in Berlin, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Duesseldorf, Munich, Karlsruhe, Frankfurt, Vienna, Graz, Linz, Toulouse, Salzburg, Paris, Strasbourg, Rome, Trieste, Florence, Milan, London, Cambridge, Dublin, Cork, Geneva, Zurich, Basel, Brussels, Utrecht, Lisbon, Barcelona, Madrid, Malaga, Valencia, Valletta, Prague, Athens, Reykjavik, and Copenhagen.
In the United States of America, rallies were held in New York, Washington, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, Seattle, Nantucket, and Austin, while citizens in Canada gathered in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Edmonton, and in Australia in Melbourne and Brisbane.
Although ProGlas dealt with the connection between the diaspora and elections earlier, showing through a research of the Assembly in Diaspora that in the 2023 elections 53 percent of citizens in the diaspora did not vote, 32 percent voted, 22 percent were without the right to vote, and 13 percent voted in Serbia, this time they announced a series of conversations with citizens from the diaspora within the action “Without You, There Is No Us Either”.
As they stated, the goal of the action is for the „diaspora to actively return to conversations and actions concerning the future of Serbia, but not symbolically, but truly, loudly, and visibly“.
When talking about the influence of the diaspora on election results, it should be noted that in the 2023 parliamentary elections, 31,552 citizens from the diaspora voted, which made up 0.8 percent of the total number of those who turned out.
On the other hand, that was the highest number of votes from the diaspora in the last 16 years, so the question is whether in the next elections, which are expected this year, the number of votes will be even higher given the activity of the diaspora since the beginning of the student protests and blockades.
One of the founders of ProGlas, Gojko Božović, states for Danas that the ProGlas action “Without You, There Is No Us Either” is the beginning of a big conversation with the diaspora.
“No one talks to the diaspora. Something is constantly expected, asked, and demanded from it. That is why we thought we should hear each other, understand each other, and talk,” states our interlocutor.
He points out that in all these activities, ProGlas cooperates with organizations from the diaspora such as the Assembly in Diaspora, Frankfurt with Students, and Stuttgart for Protests.
“Those organizations emerged as support for student and citizen protests in Serbia and thereby show the diaspora’s interest in social and political processes in Serbia,” states Božović.
He reminds that the series of panel discussions begins on June 7 in Frankfurt, followed by panels in Munich and Stuttgart on June 12 and 13.
“A series of other cities in various European countries is also planned. We are in contact with a large number of organizations from the diaspora. This shows great interest in these events, which are not designed only as classic panels but also as cultural, artistic, and social events,” explains the interlocutor of Danas.
Speaking about the problems that the ProGlas campaign will deal with, he notes that they are going to the diaspora to talk, to hear from people from the diaspora how they see the opportunities in Serbia and how they see their place in these demands for changes that have swept Serbia.
“The diaspora has difficult conditions for voting, and about 30,000 people participate in the elections in the entire diaspora. This shows how much we do not take care of the diaspora. But it is not just about voting. The diaspora is a great human, intellectual, working, and creative force, and we must not renounce that force, nor marginalize it,” emphasizes Božović.
He points out that these are people who are most often professionally accomplished and who have gained important experiences in new countries.
“Serbia must not renounce a single person, a single vote, and a single potential. The diaspora is precisely that: a huge potential. That potential is all the more important when the country is in such a dramatic political and social crisis,” concludes Božović.
The director of legal affairs of Crta, Pavle Dimitrijević, states for Danas that out of all registered voters from abroad for the last elections, two-thirds were from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“So until now, that was not some particular potential in terms of numbers and the mass of voters that votes,” he says.
Still, he points out that it is noticeable that the motivation of people in the diaspora to organize themselves and learn about how to realize their rights more efficiently and quickly is growing.
“Many are truly motivated to vote, so it cannot be said how much higher this number will be, but the impression is that there currently exists a greater motivation of people from the diaspora than ever before,” explains our interlocutor.
Speaking about the obstacles that voters in the diaspora face, Dimitrijević points out that they are mostly of an operational nature, since the rules for opening polling stations that apply in Serbia are actually applied abroad as well.
“For example, until 100 voters register, a polling station will not be opened. This then causes a lot of problems for people because people register, register, and register, but they do not know whether their polling station will be opened until the list of polling stations abroad is concluded,” explains the interlocutor of Danas, and adds that after that they do not have the opportunity to register somewhere else, so all that is left for them is to come and vote in Serbia.
As another problem, he singles out the problems with registering to vote from abroad, since voters must register by contacting diplomatic-consular missions.
“It happens that diplomatic-consular missions do not respond quickly enough and the deadline passes. If someone registers near the end of the deadline or on the last day, it somehow happens that responding is missed or that procedure is not completed, and then again people are not registered to vote abroad,” states Dimitrijević.
As a third type of problem, he mentions the informing of the voters themselves by the embassies and missions.
“Some missions are more proactive, they have good contacts with our associations, they spread information quickly, immediately when the deadlines start running, and some just put it on the website, so whoever reaches out – reaches out,” says our interlocutor.
Because of this, voters often do not know until when their deadline is to register to vote abroad.
“That deadline is usually some twenty days before the election day itself. And because of that, we always say that it is better to register to vote abroad as soon as possible, for those who know they will be abroad on that day. Meaning, as soon as the procedures themselves are established, as soon as the campaign starts, register immediately,” says Dimitrijević.
Let us remind you, according to the data of the Republican Election Commission, in 2023, the coalition around the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) won 17,797 votes, the Serbia Against Violence coalition 8,640, and the list around the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) 1,102 votes.
MORE TOPICS:
Source: Danas; Photo: Printscreen Instagram @berlinstandswithstudents