TIBIH: ELECTION COMMITTEES ARE HEADED BY PARTY PERSONS DESPITE LEGAL PROHIBITION

SARAJEVO, AUGUST 13 (ONASA) – Although the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina expressly forbids members or persons connected with the work of political parties to be appointed as presidents and deputy presidents of election committees, Transparency International in BiH (TIBiH) discovered a large number of persons who ran for this position, and it is evident that members, activists, former candidates or even current officials in the bodies of political parties throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina – announced Transparency International, referring to a new text published on the Transparentno.ba portal.
The Central Election Commission (CEC) of Bosnia and Herzegovina determined and published the list of candidates for presidents and deputy presidents of election committees for the Local Elections 2024, after which Transparency International in BiH invited citizens to report information about the political connections of persons whose names are on the list of candidates.
The public’s response was quick and concrete – applications were received for 54 people who are connected to political parties or hold positions in party bodies, and who ran for the presidency of electoral committees.
– Such appointments have the potential to seriously damage the integrity of the electoral process and citizens’ trust in the elections themselves, and are in contradiction with the Election Law of BiH, especially the changes imposed by the high representative, which state that the president of the electoral committee and his deputy may not be members or perform duties in the organs of the political party, nor may they be involved in any activities that prevent them from performing their duties in an impartial manner – it was stated in the statement.
Transparency International BiH has identified another 24 people who were candidates in the previous elections, and are now applying for the position of directly managing the election process on the day of the election, which the Election Law of BiH also expressly prohibits.
TIBiH forwarded all the information to the Central Election Commission of BiH and once again calls on all citizens to continue reporting such cases in order to ensure that the persons supervising the voting process are appointed in accordance with the law, i.e. that they are not politically committed or involved in party activities.
Citizens can report all kinds of irregularities via the e-mail address izbori@ti-bih.org or using the Reflektor: Izbori 24 application, which is available for Android and iOS smart devices. Reflektor enables citizens to easily, anonymously and safely report irregularities and abuses during and immediately before the start of the election campaign in order to shed light on election irregularities and ensure a transparent and fair election process.
The list of candidates for presidents and deputy presidents of election committees can be found on the website of the Central Election Commission, and a searchable excerpt from the list can be found on Transparentno.ba, notes TIBiH. (end)