Coalition "Pod lupom": We have examples of "Bulgarian train"

An observer of the Coalition "Pod lupom" in the village of Aladinići was not accepted by the president of the polling station committee and other members, so the police had to intervene, but only after instructions from the Central Election Commission of BiH (CIK), said Coalition Director Dario Jovanović, reports the Patria agency.

- Our observer was in front of the polling station the whole time and noticed various irregularities and certain actions. We are now in the process of enabling the observer to access the polling station. Such actions, abuses, and obstruction of observers' work are a typical example of the "Bulgarian train" – emphasized Jovanović.

The Coalition "Pod lupom" at today's press conference in Sarajevo presented data that the election day at most polling stations began in accordance with the Election Law and regulations. Thus, 98.7 percent of the Coalition's citizen observers are at certain polling stations and have been granted unimpeded access. For less than 2 percent of observers, access was not granted: not allowing entry to the polling station before 7 AM, problems with accreditation, insufficient communication between certain municipal election commissions and the CIK.

According to initial reports, at 10.2 percent of polling stations, not all members of the polling station committees were present, with slightly fewer in Republika Srpska (6.2 percent) and 12 percent in the Federation of BiH.

- At 97.7 percent of polling stations, ballots were counted manually, and at 6.9 percent of polling stations, a lack of specific election materials was observed. Regarding the timely opening of polling stations, 67.5 percent of polling stations opened at 7 AM, and 94.6 percent of polling stations opened by 7:15 AM. At 100 percent of polling stations, the ballot box was shown to be empty before the polling stations opened – said Jovanović.

It was emphasized that fifty mobile teams visited more than 50 polling stations, and the most frequently observed irregularities were allowing voting without valid documents and campaigning by supporters and activists of political parties in front of polling stations to vote for specific political entities.

- By 10 AM, the Coalition had received more than 60 citizen reports via our number, most of which were related to pressure from party activists to vote for their supporters and the distribution of ballot copies with marked parties and candidates, which is also an example of the "Bulgarian train" – added Jovanović.

It was pointed out that there were also disturbances at several polling stations visited by the Coalition's mobile teams. A case of deceased persons on the voter lists was recorded, and at one polling station near Mostar, organized transport of voters to the polling station was reported.

- We have several types of critical situations, the first is the prohibition of observation or removal of our observers from the polling station. This occurred in the municipalities of Novi Grad in Republika Srpska, Pale, and Stolac. The observer was not allowed access near the polling station, and in the village of Aladinići, there were five reports of ballot distribution near polling stations. Also, a lack of election materials was observed at polling stations in Bužim, Mostar, Brod, Prijedor, Drvar, Brčko, Tuzla, Bihać, Kostajnica, and Pelagićevo – added Jovanović.

There were threats, blackmail, and harassment of voters in Livno, as well as the insertion of a larger number of ballots into the box. In Velika Kladuša, a case was recorded where one voter received a larger number of ballots. Posters were displayed within a fifty-meter radius in Bosanska Krupa. Voting was suspended in Živinice because one person attempted to vote twice, while an incomplete polling station committee continued to work with four members at a polling station in Tuzla. In Gračanica, it was observed that observers from political parties had excerpts from the CIK and were recording voters who were going to vote, i.e., identifying those who were supposed to vote for their political entity.