European Serbia Files RIK Complaint Over Diaspora Voting

The European Serbia coalition has filed a new complaint with the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK), this time against the amended decision on polling stations abroad. According to a statement from the Serbia Center party published on Friday, October 9, the so-called reallocation of voters does not solve the difficulties of voting for more than 20,000 citizens.

The complaint comes as a dispute over the same issue is already under way before the RIK, with elections scheduled for October 25.

What does the coalition say in its complaint?

The statement argues that the right to vote is guaranteed on paper but not available in practice. The coalition cites voters from Slovakia, who have been directed to vote in Vienna, and citizens of Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg, who have been assigned to a polling station in Toronto.

“Formally assigning voters to existing polling stations does not mean that voting is actually accessible to citizens. The contested decision forces some voters into long journeys and significant costs, and even into travelling to another country in order to exercise their right to vote. Voters from Slovakia are being sent to vote in Vienna, while citizens of Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg are assigned to a polling station in Toronto,” the coalition’s statement says.

European Serbia is asking the RIK to:

• annul the disputed provisions of the decision and adopt a new one, with additional polling stations wherever conditions allow
• establish the number of registered voters, their real ability to come and vote, and the reasons why closer polling stations were not designated
• notify citizens of any changes in good time

The coalition’s representatives in the RIK, the statement adds, also support all earlier complaints against the decisions on polling stations and on voting hours abroad.

What is known about the earlier Student List complaint?

The Student List filed a complaint against the same decision on October 7. The decision was adopted on the proposal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Sofija Mandic, a lawyer and RIK member, told N1 on October 9 that the Commission was due to rule on that complaint the same day, because the legal deadline for deciding was expiring. The outcome was not known in the sources the newsroom reviewed; the RIK statement on its October 9 session mentions only the lists for national minority councils.

Mandic says that even after repeated requests the RIK has not received what it needs. In her words, ministry representatives did not show up at the previous meeting with the Commission, and something similar happened a few days earlier.

“We have not received a single piece of paper. Everything we have heard so far has been verbal statements,” Mandic said, referring to documentation showing that host countries were actually asked to open polling stations.

She cited Thessaloniki as an example of conflicting figures.

“For Thessaloniki, where we have a consulate, we have information from voters, not just to us individually but to the whole RIK and the Foreign Ministry, that more than 200 people registered. Then we heard verbally from the Foreign Ministry’s representatives: ‘No, there were 50 there.’ They avoid delivering that information with a stamp and a signature, I assume because they too are aware that it leads to some kind of accountability,” she said.

The sources the newsroom reviewed contain no response from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to these claims.

How many voters are registered abroad?

Here, too, the figures differ. RIK member Marko Zivanovic told N1 on October 8 that the Commission has received from the ministry neither documentation on its communication with host countries nor the exact number of registered voters. The ministry, he said, announced that more than 100,000 voters had registered, while he himself estimates the number at around 111,000. With turnout of about 65 percent, that would amount to roughly 2.6 percent of the total electorate. There are currently 93 polling stations abroad.

What could change the decision?

According to Mandic, a change is still possible. “In previous election cycles, we had amendments to this decision even eight days before the vote. As long as the ballots have not been physically printed, it is possible to change the decision,” she explained. That could happen through a new ministry proposal or a favorable RIK ruling on a complaint, and if the Commission rejects the complaint, the Administrative Court could review the decision.

Mandic also warns about the consequences for individual voters. Anyone moved to another location under the amended decision, for example from Bratislava to Vienna, as a rule cannot vote in Serbia, unless they file an appeal and obtain a new ruling from the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government.

“It is a disproportionate burden on voters,” Mandic said.

Whether the RIK will uphold either of the two complaints is not stated in the sources. The newsroom did not have information on the outcome of the ruling on the Student List complaint as of Saturday morning.