Deadline to register for voting abroad expires tonight

Serbian citizens living abroad have until midnight to register to vote in the snap parliamentary elections on October 25. The deadline expires today, Saturday, October 3, Serbian time, and what is known about the number of registrants depends on whom you ask and on which day.

Dusan Dincic, a member of the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK), told the Beta news agency that registration runs until midnight on October 3. Applications are submitted through a Serbian diplomatic or consular mission. He expects 130 polling stations to be opened in the diaspora.

How many people have registered to vote abroad?

There is no single figure, and the numbers that have been published come from different people on different days:

• Dincic told Beta on October 1 that more than 73,000 citizens had registered.
• The Student List claims more than 70,000 registrants have been recorded, as reported by RTV Belle Amie on October 2.
• Ognjen Rasuo, a lawyer and member of the Commission for the Revision of the Voter Registry, said on October 2 that 80,000 decisions approving voting abroad had been issued by that day.
• Marko Dimic, who represents the Freedom and Justice Party on the Commission for the Revision of the Voter Registry, told Danas that about 55,000 people had registered by Tuesday, September 29, adding that these were positively resolved requests and that none had been rejected so far.

Dincic described the level of interest this way: “The interest of our citizens in voting abroad is enormous, more than 73,000 have registered so far.” According to Danas, some Commission members estimate the total could reach 80,000.

Two figures are used for comparison, and it is not certain they refer to the same election. Danas reports that 39,270 voters registered abroad for the previous parliamentary elections and 31,552 of them voted. RTV Belle Amie gives 39,777 people entered in the voter registry for voting outside the country in 2022.

How many polling stations will be opened?

The RIK designates polling stations abroad, on a proposal from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). According to Dincic, the proposal was due on October 2, and the RIK must adopt it by Sunday, October 4 at the latest. Nova.rs reports that MFA representatives told a RIK meeting that day they would deliver the proposal in the evening.

Dincic noted that 80 polling stations were opened abroad at the previous parliamentary elections and estimated that 130 are needed now. He described the rule on voter numbers like this: “To open a polling station, at least 100 voters must have registered in that city.” Danas, citing DW, clarifies that a station is mandatory only once 100 people have registered, and that below that threshold the RIK decides.

Dincic also voiced an expectation of the MFA:

The interest is now much higher, and I hope the MFA will not obstruct it and that all our citizens will be able to vote.

Most registrants, according to Danas, come from Bosnia and Herzegovina, with Germany a clear second, followed by Austria, the United States, Italy, Switzerland, Canada and Montenegro. Diaspora initiatives claim they have collected enough requests in Germany for four more stations, in Cologne, Hanover, Nuremberg and Karlsruhe. That is their claim, and the final answer will be known only once the voter registry is closed.

What do those who registered say?

Jelena Radivojcevic, an activist with the “Frankfurt for Students” initiative, told Danas that people write to consulates but do not receive confirmations of their registration. She says she had a similar experience at the last elections:

To be fair, consulates did not send those confirmations before either. For the last elections I registered fifteen minutes before the deadline, got no confirmation at all, but was able to vote without any problem.

The Kreni-Promeni movement claims that MFA Secretary General Dusan Kozarev issued an oral instruction to sabotage the opening of polling stations, especially in Germany and the United States. According to DW, there is no evidence for that claim. Foreign Minister Marko Djuric rejected the accusation as needlessly stirring unrest in the diaspora and deepening divisions for the sake of political point-scoring.

Dimic also pointed to a problem with residence, telling Danas:

The problem for people abroad is also linked to the question of residence. Whoever deregisters their residence in Serbia is wiped entirely from the voter registry, even though the law says otherwise.

Dimic also commented on the rise in registrations: “The number of people registered now has to be compared with the earlier one. The growth is huge. It means people recognize the moment.”

Sources also differ on when the voter registry closes. Dincic said it is closed in municipalities on October 9, while RTV Belle Amie reports that the registry will be closed the day after the registration deadline expires. The RIK decision on polling stations abroad is expected by Sunday, October 4 at the latest.