Two watermarks a month before elections raise suspicion: Is abuse possible?

The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CEC BiH) claims that no manipulations related to ballot papers will be possible during the elections in October this year, writes Patria.
Polling stations will be secured by expert observers, and the process of counting votes after the polling stations close will also be strictly controlled.

CEC BiH spokesperson Maksida Pirić denied the possibility of abuse due to the existence of two watermarks, one in Banja Luka and the other, which remained from the previous elections, and which is still in the Czech Republic.

A few days earlier, state representative Halid Genjac pointed out that the only way to protect ballot papers from abuse is the watermark on the ballot. However, Genjac is concerned that, in addition to the watermark located in Banja Luka, which will be imprinted on the ballots for the upcoming elections, an almost identical watermark exists in the Czech Republic, which was used during the 2012 elections in BiH.

Pirić confirmed the existence of the watermark in the Czech Republic for NAP, but said that it is nothing unusual, but rather a standard practice to keep the watermark for some time after the elections. She did not have detailed explanations, except that she explicitly claims that abuse of the old watermark is not possible.

When asked why the ballots will be stored in a warehouse in Istočno Sarajevo, and why they will be secured by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska if it is known that the Main Counting Center and the CEC BiH building will be secured by the Directorate for Coordination of Police Bodies of BiH, Pirić said that all police bodies in the country, including the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska, will be engaged during the election process in BiH, writes NAP.