CRIMINAL CHARGES WILL ALSO BE FILED: CEC HAS NO MONEY FOR TENDERS, BUT ELECTIONS WILL BE CALLED

(Patria) - The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina is considering information on the implementation of preparatory activities for the 2020 local elections at a session that began this morning.

It is known that BiH has not yet adopted the Budget for 2020, and in the budget request for local elections, the CEC asked for 4.2 million KM, for additional employment of 290,000 KM, and engagement under service contracts for another 560,000 KM. It was said that the elections will be called next week, but there are many problems. 

Vanja Bjelica-Prutina, president of the CEC, said that they hold collegium meetings every working day and spend a lot of time finding possible solutions. According to her, they just need money; they have been working on other things all this time. She also pointed out that the epidemiological situation will be monitored.

“Some activities are limited due to the epidemiological situation, and some due to the non-adoption of the Budget. One of the problems is the inability to hire additional staff, which is done before every election. Another problem is the inability to initiate public procurement. In 2016, the Budget was already secured in December 2015. Of course, the CEC then had the opportunity to initiate procurement in a timely manner,” said Vanja Bjelica-Prutina.

Irena Hadžiabdić, a member of the CEC, said that due to the non-adoption of the Budget, the CEC is prevented from performing its legal obligations.

“We have done everything we can without a budget, but everything has its limits. We have written a series of letters to the authorities, but we have not seen any willingness to find a solution. None of us will commit to tender procedures without securing funds. That is one of the conclusions; only after securing funds will we proceed with public procurement. The talk of postponing the elections is impossible. We can plan the elections for October, but it depends on the activities we are currently undertaking,” said Hadžiabdić. 

As the head of the sector at the CEC informed the members of the CEC, activities for the largest procurements, which require over 3 million KM, have already been initiated. 
The CEC only has funds for the period April-June, which amounts to 1.4 percent of the CEC's budget, and that is slightly more than 700,000 KM.

“All public procurement notices should have been published around the end of March and the beginning of April, and all contracts should have been signed in May or by mid-June. However, due to deadlines, it is possible that we will not be able to meet all of them,” it was stated at the CEC session.

The funds they managed to secure are for forms for the registration of political parties within the budget and the decision on temporary financing.

The most significant other procurements for which there are currently no funds are the procurement of ballot papers, the procurement of all forms, forms for the registration of voters voting by mail, the procurement of media services, video spots and publication of lists, and the transport of ballot papers.

Stjepan Mikić said that they do not have time to wait for the adoption of the state Budget, which is announced for the end of May, and proposed that funds be provided from the state Budget reserve, and then returned to that reserve once the Budget is adopted by the Parliament.

Suad Arnautović said that preventing citizens from exercising their right to vote is a criminal offense.

"All measures must be taken to hold the elections," said Arnautović, adding that they are in an unusual situation and are considering the idea of filing criminal charges against those who have not secured funds for holding the elections.