Appellate Division of the Court of BiH Confirms: Rame Isak's Party Will Not Be Certified for the State Level Due to Forged Signatures

(Patria) - The Appellate Division of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has rejected the appeal of the Party of the People (Snaga naroda) and upheld the decision of the Central Election Commission of BiH (CIK BiH) denying certification of that party for the state level.

This means that the original CIK decision remains in force and that the party of the Federal Minister of Interior, Rame Isak, will not be able to participate in the elections for the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH. The certification was denied because the Party of the People submitted several hundred forged signatures required for party certification at the state level to the CIK.

According to information from the Investigation (Istraga), the party of the Minister of the Federal Ministry of Interior (FMUP), Rame Isak, misused the personal data (personal identification number and ID card number) of several hundred citizens of the Federation of BiH in order to be certified to participate in the elections for the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH. All documents have been submitted to the Prosecutor's Office of BiH, which is responsible for abuses during the General Elections.

The Party of the People will be able to participate in the elections for cantonal assemblies and the Parliament of the Federation because it already has representatives at that level of government and does not need signatures for certification.

The CIK first gave the Party of the People a deadline to correct the irregularities. After that, new signatures were not submitted, and the CIK made a decision denying certification of the minister's party. Isak then appealed to the Court of BiH, and the Appellate Division, ruling on the electoral appeal, decided that the CIK's decision was correctly made.