Europe and the US Rejected Electronic Voting Which They Now Impose on BiH: Is an Election Fraud Being Prepared for 2026 and Because of Whom?!

By Rasim Belko

An electronic voting system in an election cycle is a method of voting that uses electronic devices to collect and count votes. This system has some advantages, such as speed and accuracy, and paper savings, but it also has many disadvantages and dangers that can threaten the democratic process.

About three months ago, from a source within the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina well-informed about the behind-the-scenes developments in international politics operating in our country, I received information that the General Elections in 2026 could be "decided" far from the eyes and will of the public, i.e., the voters.

"The plan is to ensure the victory of those who suit the current policy of the international community through an electronic vote counting system," is the information that causes some unease and seems incredible.

Nezavisne novine today published information that equipment for introducing electronics into BiH's electoral system is already being procured, and the information was confirmed by the head of the Central Election Commission, Suad Arnautović.

It is also interesting that the source from the beginning of the article and Arnautović, several months later, state that the necessary equipment will be procured in cooperation by the USA and the European Union.

"If everything is well prepared and controlled, it would greatly help in terms of the complete accuracy of election results in every respect," says Arnautović for Nezavisne novine, probably assuming that all of us here are some Mohicans who use the internet for fun and don't know how to read about others' experiences with that electronic system in elections.

Experiences in the European Union completely refute Arnautović and all those who think that electronic counting will bring accurate results of the voters' will. For example, in the Netherlands, they started with this system in 2006, but completely abandoned it a year later, after a group of activists proved in a television show that they could manipulate the device quite easily and simply.

A study conducted in 2018 by the research center of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina states: "In almost all European countries, elections in the last ten years have been held in the traditional "pen and paper" way, including Germany, where the Constitutional Court declared the use of electronic devices unconstitutional and banned it. A partial exception are Belgium and France, as well as Estonia. It should be reminded that eight European countries introduced electronic voting as a project or in its entirety.

As stated in an analysis from 2012: "a pilot project of electronic voting was conducted in four European countries, which was not continued (in Ireland, Italy, Norway, and the United Kingdom). In two cases, the use of electronic voting devices was completely discontinued (in the Netherlands and Germany). In only two countries are electronic voting devices currently used, in Belgium and France, but not throughout the entire country. In fact, in France, they are used only in a few cities. As for Belgium, electronic voting is used only in one part of the country (in Flanders and the Brussels-Capital Region), while in the other part of the country (in Wallonia) it is used only in some municipalities".

In the United States of America, which wants to "help" us introduce an electronic system into the election process, this system is used only in some states, while California, for example, has completely banned the electronic system. The US experience with the 2000 elections led to complete skepticism regarding the use of electronic devices and software in the electoral system.

So where is this electronic voting system, which the CEC and its president Arnautović want to introduce to us for transparency and integrity, used?

It is used in Brazil, Venezuela, and India. Democratic systems, indeed!

Besides the fact that the electronic system in the electoral process is insecure and cyber-vulnerable, it is also extremely expensive. Tens of millions are needed just to procure these systems, their maintenance and storage are extremely expensive, and the fact that technology advances on a daily basis carries the risk of their obsolescence, which further makes them insecure.

Transparency and secrecy of voting are threatened by electronic models due to their exposure to possible malicious actions. Given that it is widely known that Bosnia and Herzegovina has been a target of international subversive activities for years and is not at the level of Western countries when it comes to cyber security, it is clear that this further casts doubt on the electronic system in the electoral process.

Because if the most powerful European countries have rejected this system as insecure, non-transparent, and vulnerable, why is there an insistence on introducing such a system in Bosnia and Herzegovina a decade later? If Brazil and Venezuela are the benchmarks for such a thing, then they should leave us to BRICS as well, because only some members of that organization currently use electronic voting!

And finally, the risk of technical failures, errors, or manipulation of electronic devices, which can lead to the loss, alteration, or theft of votes, the lack of voter confidence in the electronic system, which can affect their motivation and participation in elections, the lack of possibility for independent verification and auditing of voting results, which can lead to doubt and questioning of election legitimacy, the lack of a legal framework and standards for regulating and supervising the electronic system, which can lead to legal disputes and conflicts, the possibility of hacking, sabotage, or foreign interference in the electronic system, which can threaten national security and sovereignty, are the shortcomings due to which Europe, as well as a significant part of the US and the world, have abandoned such a system.

All those who will decide whether to allow foreign factors, regardless of which hemisphere they come from, to decide on the government in Bosnia and Herzegovina, or whether it will be a democratic process in which citizens will influence processes through their elected representatives, at least to some extent, must know this.

What we witnessed on October 2, 2022, and April 27, 2023, clearly indicates that electoral processes and the functioning of government in Bosnia and Herzegovina are anything but democratic. By introducing electronic voting, those who supported the changes from October '22 and April '23 could do such things behind the scenes.

And that is likely the goal, because according to the source in the introduction of the article, the "donors" of the electronic voting equipment want to maintain the current government until 2030.

If that happens, then there are no obstacles for Bosniak and Bosniak-centric politics to start thinking about BRICS, because electronic voting is only applied in some member states of that organization!}