CEC Member in Conflict of Interest: Son of Vlado Rogić Appointed as Dragan Čović's First Associate in the House of Peoples of the PA BiH

Teo Rogić, son of Central Election Commission of BiH member Vlado Rogić, has become the new advisor – head of cabinet for HDZ BiH leader Dragan Čović in the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, Istraga.ba has learned.

Until his “promotion,” Rogić Jr. was a civil servant in the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH. Rogić has frozen his position in civil service while performing duties in Dragan Čović's Cabinet.

His father, Vlado Rogić, has been a long-time member of the Central Election Commission of BiH, close to HDZ BiH. He was appointed to this position thanks to his connections with HDZ BiH. He used his connections with HDZ to get his son Teo employed in the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH. According to official data from the Official Gazette of BiH, Teo Rogić was appointed in November 2022 to the position of Head of the Department for Cooperation with International Organizations (Multilateral Relations) of the Sector for International Relations and Protocol in the Joint Service of the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH. In addition, he also served as secretary of the Delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

Vlado Rogić has been a member of the CEC for a second term. Before joining the CEC, in 2013, he was appointed Deputy Director of the Agency for Personal Data Protection in Bosnia and Herzegovina as an HDZ BiH appointee. Given that his son Teo has become the head of cabinet – advisor to Dragan Čović, Vlado Rogić is, in effect, in a conflict of interest.

“Election commissions and polling stations are independent and impartial in their work. A member of an election commission or polling station shall not participate in decision-making when that member or a member of their immediate family has a personal or financial interest, or if there is another conflict of interest, which may cast doubt on their ability to act impartially. Immediate family members are considered family members within the meaning of Article 15.7, paragraph 2 of this law,” stated Article 2.1 of the Election Law of BiH.

Article 15.7, to which this article refers, states that immediate family members are: spouse, children, and household members towards whom the candidate has a legal obligation of support.

Given that a member of Vlado Rogić's immediate family is an employee in the cabinet of the HDZ BiH president, this CEC member should recuse himself when deciding on all matters related to HDZ BiH, i.e., in all cases where Dragan Čović signs acts of that political party.