The Serbian diaspora in Slovenia requested that several additional polling stations be opened, in addition to the one at the embassy in Ljubljana, but the authorities, the Republic Electoral Commission (REC) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, turned a deaf ear to their requests to allow voting in Maribor and Koper as well.

Just how justified these requests were is demonstrated by the fact that far more than the required 100 voters registered to vote in each of those cities.

But that did not discourage our people living and working in Slovenia. They organized free bus transportation from the two aforementioned cities, as well as from Celje, to the polling station in Ljubljana…

“When we realized that the regime in Serbia was panicking over the prospect of losing the election and had no intention of opening additional polling stations, we decided to organize ourselves,” says Bojan Veličković from Ljubljana.

He points out that the Serbian embassy made an awkward attempt to justify its failure to open additional polling stations by citing Slovenian laws…

“Consul Špica, who we heard had served in the United States before coming to Slovenia, claimed that Slovenia would not allow them to open new polling stations, which is untrue. Slovenian law stipulates that if a country needs more than one polling station, it must request permission from the Slovenian state. But nobody at the local embassy even made such a request. The consul decided that he did not need those polling stations, and that was the end of it.”

This sparked outrage among several people, including Bojan.

“We connected with people in Slovenia who support the students and initially registered as election observers. Then we received information that, due to the high level of interest, they had decided to open two polling stations inside the embassy itself. One in each office, in an attempt to accommodate the more than 3,800 people who had registered to vote in Slovenia.”

THEY MADE SURE EVERY VOTER IN SLOVENIA WAS COVERED: Serbian defiance kicked in for Bojan and his team

That was the last straw for Bojan…

“I got angry and decided to rent two buses to transport at least a hundred people. Then others joined my initiative, with more people getting organized in various cities, so within a few days we had arranged transportation for literally everyone registered to vote. Serbian defiance is a force to be reckoned with, and the regime in Serbia and its pawns in Slovenia did their very best to provoke it. They got exactly what they asked for!” Bojan Veličković concludes at the end of the conversation, his voice filled with undisguised pride, adding:

“The students are winning!”

MORE TOPICS:

WITH ICONS AGAINST OBLIVION: How One Serbian-Swiss Family Brings Orthodox Tradition to the Diaspora and Helps Families in Kosovo!

LOOKING FOR A DENTIST IN BELGRADE? Here’s How International Patients Can Compare Clinics, Prices and Treatment Plans Before Traveling

BALKAN BUSINESS IN THE SPOTLIGHT IN CHICAGO: Senators, governors, consuls, and congressmen backed the union of business people from our region in America!

Source: Antonije Kovačević Foto: Facebook




Google Add Serbian Times as your Google source