Electoral technology is not a technical issue – it is a national security issue

(Patria) - These days we are witnessing an attempt to present the introduction of electoral technologies for the General Elections in 2026 as a technical issue – almost an administrative routine. Even more concerning is that some political actors have hastily welcomed the decision of the High Representative Christian Schmidt to finance these technologies through the Central Bank of BiH – without genuine analysis and understanding of what lies behind that decision.

The Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina clearly states: we will not remain silent when key issues of state sovereignty are decided without discussion, transparency, and the participation of domestic institutions.

We remind you that, as a political party, we consistently refused to participate in the model of establishing government that led to the suspension of the constituent status of the Bosniak people in the Federation of BiH. We refused not out of political interest – because we would have profited if we had agreed – but out of principle. And today, for the same reasons, we say:

The introduction of electoral technologies must be a domestic, not an imposed process. It must be in the hands of BiH institutions, with the participation of the domestic expert and technological community, without the interference of foreign commercial and political interests.

The name of the company that is supposed to implement these technologies is already being unofficially mentioned – and it is a company that is the subject of numerous controversies and investigations in several countries. The question is – why the silence?

Imagine if these electoral machines were produced in Russia – there would be justified panic. But if they come from another political bloc, where is the concern for security and sovereignty then?

The will of the citizens expressed in elections is the foundation of the democratic order – and the protection of that process is a matter of national security. It must be entirely under domestic control – with domestic knowledge, domestic responsibility, and domestic institutions.

The Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina calls on all domestic IT companies, experts, the academic community, and responsible institutions to get involved – before it is too late.

Because if we hand over even the mechanism of elections – then even elections cannot help us anymore.