CEC: Unacceptable attack on the institution and personal integrity of Vanja Bjelica-Prutina

(Patria) - The Central Election Commission of BiH, due to the frequent dissemination of disinformation and misleading the public regarding the lottery procedure for awarding one mandate from the Serb people in the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina from Republika Srpska, for the purpose of accurate and complete public information, points out that Article 9.12g of the Election Law of BiH stipulates that election materials and voting results from the National Assembly of Republika Srpska are submitted to the Central Election Commission of BiH for confirmation and final allocation of mandates.

If identical quotients (the same number of votes) are obtained, the mandate is awarded by lottery, which was the specific case. The lottery process, held yesterday, 01.07.2024, at the premises of the Central Election Commission of BiH, is legal, and was public, transparent, and accessible to all visitors.

All present had the opportunity to object to the process and express dissatisfaction at any time. There were no objections to this process, and many media outlets reported extensively on the entire lottery process.

In this regard, we assert that the accusations against member Ms. Bjelica-Prutina are absolutely unfounded and disseminated solely with the aim of damaging her personal integrity and safety, which we consider unacceptable when it comes to any member of the Central Election Commission of BiH.

As stipulated by Article 16.17a of the Election Law of BiH, political entities are prohibited from disseminating false information through the media that could jeopardize the integrity of the election process and mislead voters.

In case of violation of this provision, the Central Election Commission of BiH, as the competent authority, will initiate and conduct proceedings to determine responsibility and impose sanctions. We call on political entities to refrain from disseminating disinformation that could lead to undermining public trust in the entire election process in BiH and later affect the integrity of this state institution for election implementation.

Finally, we invite all those dissatisfied with the decisions of the Central Election Commission of BiH to seek protection of electoral rights by submitting appeals to the Appellate Division of the Court of BiH, and not through disseminating false information, the CEC stated.