Hundreds of thousands of Serbian citizens who live, work or study abroad have faced the same problem at every election for years – exercising a basic civic right means a journey of several hours, and often an extremely expensive one, to the nearest embassy or consulate general.

Aware that geographical distance must not be an obstacle to participation in the democratic processes of their home country, students, associations and civic initiatives around the world have launched a mass campaign to organize and collect applications for the opening of new polling stations.

The 100-voter rule: The key to opening polling stations

Under current regulations and the Law on the Election of Members of Parliament, for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) to approve the opening of a polling station outside diplomatic and consular missions, at least 100 registered voters must apply in advance at a particular location.

This requirement has sparked unprecedented mobilization among the Serbian community on every continent. Requests and applications are already being collected at dozens of locations where large numbers of members of the diaspora live, but where there have so far been no conditions for voting.

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Mapping the diaspora: Where are new polling stations being requested?

Citizens and student organizations are currently actively collecting signatures in the following countries and cities:

  • Europe: Germany (Nuremberg, Dortmund, Leipzig), Austria (Linz, Graz), Switzerland (Lausanne, Lugano), United Kingdom (Manchester, Birmingham), Ireland (Dublin), France (Nice), Norway (Trondheim, Bergen), Iceland (Reykjavik), Italy (Florence).
  • North America: USA (Miami, Phoenix, San Francisco Bay Area), Canada (Vancouver, Calgary).
  • Australia and Oceania: Australia (Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Perth), New Zealand (Auckland).
  • Middle East and Asia: Kuwait (Kuwait City), Qatar (Doha), Lebanon (Beirut), Turkey (Istanbul, Ankara), Singapore, Japan (Tokyo).
  • Africa and South America: Kenya (Nairobi), South Africa (Johannesburg), Brazil (São Paulo).

How can you join?

For a student in Lausanne or a worker in Dortmund, traveling to vote in Bern or Düsseldorf often requires taking an entire day off from work or university and incurring significant expenses. Opening polling stations in cities where the largest number of Serbian citizens actually live and study would finally give the diaspora an opportunity to participate in decision-making under equal conditions.

The organizers of the initiative are calling on all Serbian citizens residing abroad to register as soon as possible at their nearest diplomatic or consular mission or through the relevant associations at the locations listed above, so that the required threshold of 100 applications can be reached.

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Source: Serbian Times, Foto: AI prompt by Serbian Times

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