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With the closing of the voter register on 9 October, the picture of voting abroad in the 25 October parliamentary elections is complete. Voters abroad will vote at 93 polling stations in 37 countries, and 102,147 voters are assigned to them (Voter register closed: 6,450,523 voters at 8,392 polling stations). In 2023, 81 polling stations in 35 countries served 39,270 registered voters. The number of voters thus grew 2.6-fold, while the number of polling stations grew by only 15%. Voters abroad are entered on the basis of an application, and in 2023, 80.35% of those registered did vote.
The distribution of polling stations does not follow the distribution of voters. Bosnia and Herzegovina has 28 of the 93 polling stations (30%) for 19,800 voters (19%), whereas the other 65 polling stations serve 82,347 voters. Germany has eight polling stations for 20,107 voters, and the largest single polling station, in Stuttgart, is assigned 4,047 voters from five cities. Sixteen polling stations have more than 2,000 voters, while the median polling station has 937. Of the 12 additional polling stations compared with 2023, nine were opened in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which proposed the network, did not explain the criteria for it and did not provide the RIK working group for voting abroad with the number of registered voters by city. Some voters are assigned across borders: voters residing in Slovakia vote in Vienna, those residing in Iceland in Oslo, and those residing in Brunei, the Philippines, East Timor, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam in Jakarta. The number of voters by country of residence is not published, so the totals by country include them.
The number of voters abroad grew 2.6-fold compared with 2023, while the number of polling stations grew by only 15%.
The distribution of polling stations does not follow the distribution of voters. Bosnia and Herzegovina has 28 of the 93 polling stations (30%) for 19,800 voters (19%), whereas the other 65 polling stations serve 82,347 voters. Germany has eight polling stations for 20,107 voters, and the largest single polling station, in Stuttgart, is assigned 4,047 voters from five cities. Sixteen polling stations have more than 2,000 voters, while the median polling station has 937. Of the 12 additional polling stations compared with 2023, nine were opened in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which proposed the network, did not explain the criteria for it and did not provide the RIK working group for voting abroad with the number of registered voters by city. Some voters are assigned across borders: voters residing in Slovakia vote in Vienna, those residing in Iceland in Oslo, and those residing in Brunei, the Philippines, East Timor, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam in Jakarta. The number of voters by country of residence is not published, so the totals by country include them.
Voting hours are the second major problem. The Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) decided, by 20 votes to 7, that voting at all polling stations abroad takes place from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Serbian time. This departs from the practice the RIK applied in every election since 2016, when voting abroad took place from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time, and a day earlier in countries west of Serbia. The stated reason is to prevent disinformation and results from abroad becoming available before voting ends in Serbia. As a result, voting at 13 polling stations in the Americas, Asia and Oceania, with 10,851 voters (11% of all voters abroad), will partly take place at night. On 25 October, voters in New Zealand will vote from 7 p.m. on Sunday to 8 a.m. on Monday, in Sydney and Melbourne from 5 p.m. to 6 a.m., in Tokyo from 3 p.m. to 4 a.m., in Chicago from 1 a.m. to 2 p.m., and in Los Angeles from 11 p.m. on Saturday to noon on Sunday (local times, calculated for voting from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Serbia, which will already be on winter time). CRTA assessed that the decision rests on an incorrect interpretation of Article 91 of the Law on the election of MPs, has no basis in domestic regulations or international standards, exceeds the authority of the RIK and directly endangers the principle of equal suffrage (CRTA observation mission report). The "Student List - Students Win" filed complaints against this decision and against the decision on polling stations abroad on 7 October; the RIK rejected the complaints.
The difference between the decisions issued and the voters assigned is 4,159. Municipal administrations issued 106,306 decisions on voting abroad by 3 October, while the closed voter register assigns 102,147 voters to the 93 polling stations. The difference is therefore the number of voters whom the data show as registered for voting abroad but not assigned to a polling station, as of those two dates. It is not a final figure: the total number of voters registered for voting abroad in the closed register has not been published, and it is not known whether some of the decisions were cancelled. What the data do show is that seven countries that had a polling station in 2023 - Bulgaria, Lebanon, Romania, Slovakia, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates and the Central African Republic - have none, and that 13 polling stations from 2023, with 2,588 registered voters at the time, were not opened. According to the amendment of the decision proposed by the Ministry on 7 October and adopted by the RIK, voters from Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg are assigned to Toronto, and those from Herceg Novi, Tivat, Budva and Kotor to Podgorica.
CRTA's observation mission continues to monitor the decisions of the RIK and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on voting abroad.
The difference between the decisions issued and the voters assigned is 4,159. Municipal administrations issued 106,306 decisions on voting abroad by 3 October, while the closed voter register assigns 102,147 voters to the 93 polling stations. The difference is therefore the number of voters whom the data show as registered for voting abroad but not assigned to a polling station, as of those two dates. It is not a final figure: the total number of voters registered for voting abroad in the closed register has not been published, and it is not known whether some of the decisions were cancelled. What the data do show is that seven countries that had a polling station in 2023 - Bulgaria, Lebanon, Romania, Slovakia, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates and the Central African Republic - have none, and that 13 polling stations from 2023, with 2,588 registered voters at the time, were not opened. According to the amendment of the decision proposed by the Ministry on 7 October and adopted by the RIK, voters from Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg are assigned to Toronto, and those from Herceg Novi, Tivat, Budva and Kotor to Podgorica.
CRTA's observation mission continues to monitor the decisions of the RIK and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on voting abroad.
