CEC BiH on Wednesday on problems of implementing the 2020 elections: Can it be done without a budget and how?

The Central Election Commission of BiH will, on Wednesday, 05/20/2020, at its 23rd session starting at 11 AM, consider only one item on the agenda, which is the issue of implementing the 2020 Local Elections.

It is known that the CEC has made a decision to call local elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Sunday, October 4, 2020. However, funds for the elections have not yet been secured, as the BiH budget has not been adopted.

A Decision on temporary financing has been in effect since the beginning of the year.

The President of the Central Election Commission of BiH, Vanja Bjelica-Prutina, has been persistently warning that due to the non-adoption of the budget, the Central Election Commission of BiH is prevented from initiating the most important public procurement procedures.

The Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina stipulates that local elections are financed 50 percent from the BiH budget and 50 percent from the budgets of local communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The CEC's estimate is that 4.5 million euros need to be secured for the organization of the elections.

The Central Election Commission of BiH stated that it will not adopt instructions on the deadlines and order of electoral activities for the 2020 local elections, "but they will be adopted after funds for the implementation of the local elections are secured".

On the other hand, Zoran Tegeltija, Chairman of the BiH Council of Ministers, stated that it is certain that the budget that will be submitted to the BiH Presidency, and then to the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, will include funds planned for the elections.

"If there are any difficulties with the adoption of the budget, the BiH Council of Ministers has the option to make the necessary decision to secure funds for the implementation of the elections, even if we are in a temporary financing system. My appeal, first and foremost to the CEC of BiH, is to continue all electoral actions necessary for the implementation of the local elections, and to leave the financing problem to the BiH Council of Ministers," Tegeltija said.