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As British Columbians hit the polls this weekend to vote for their new premier in a snap election, Serbians across the world will vote in a snap parliamentary election on Sunday.
For the Serbian diaspora in Western Canada, the closest polling station is in Toronto.
However, that’s not stopping some from exercising their democratic rights.
Ivana Dordevic is one of several Serbian nationals in Vancouver flying to Toronto to cast their ballot in the parliamentary election.
Vancouver was not granted a polling station in this election, unlike the 2023 Serbian parliamentary election, which was also a snap election.
According to Dordevic, that’s despite the community rallying hundreds more Serbians to register to vote in the city than in 2023.
“I feel like my constitutional rights were jeopardized, and my human rights also,” she said.
Ivana Dordevic said she is aware of around 100 Serbians flying from Vancouver to Toronto to vote in this weekend’s parliamentary election. (Submitted by Ivana Dordevic)
Serbians in Canada can vote at one of two polling stations in Ottawa and Toronto. Polls open at 2 a.m. ET to align with the voting window in Serbia.
Critics say it’s a deliberate move to discourage voters abroad, who may be less supportive of Serbia’s former president Aleksandar Vucic, who wants to return as prime minister after the vote on Sunday, as his populist Serbian Progressive Party faces a serious challenge from the Students’ List — a movement born out of almost two years of student protests triggered by a train station tragedy in 2024.
Election officials have said that at least 100,000 citizens have applied to vote abroad, nearly three times as many as in 2023.
Turnout in Serbia is expected to be high, which is believed to favour the students.
Marko Vlahovic says he and a group of Serbians protested in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery in solidarity with the student movement almost every Saturday from January to May 2025. (Submitted by Marko Vlahovic)
Marko Vlahovic is part of a group of Serbians who protested in Vancouver last year in solidarity with the students. He said the group protested in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery almost every Saturday from January to May 2025.
Vlahovic says he will arrive in Toronto just before 2 a.m. Sunday to vote, and is flying back six hours later.
“It’s a lot at stake for us, it’s one of the most crucial, probably the most important elections we had,” he said.
Vlahovic volunteered at the Vancouver polling booth in 2023. He recalls there were around 100 people registered to vote in Vancouver in that election.
In this election, he is aware of at least 400 Serbians registered to vote in Vancouver.
“Everyone’s really disappointed, we thought it would be open and it wasn’t,” he said.
The Serbian embassy in Ottawa has not responded to a CBC News interview request.
Vlahovic said he is voting for change. He hopes the country can be a place his daughter could return to someday.
“For us, it’s a fight for democracy, a fight for Serbia, a better future,” he said.
Marko Vlahovic is pictured submitting his ballot in Toronto for Serbia’s 2022 presidential and parliamentary elections. (Submitted by Marko Vlahovic)
Based on a community group chat, Dordevic believes around 100 other Serbians are flying to Toronto from Vancouver to vote.
And she believes more are flying from other parts of the country.
She says this election is historic, with looming concerns about government corruption, a weakening economy and a declining standard of living.
“Democracy is at stake, it’s the future of the country at stake, it’s the future of young people there at stake,” she said.
“This is the turning point of this country.”