Local Elections 2016 - Basic Information for Voters

Local elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina will be held on Sunday, October 2. Polling stations will be open from 07:00 to 19:00. By presenting one of the valid BiH identification documents (ID card, driver's license, passport) at the polling station, a voter receives the set of ballot papers to which they are entitled by law. The secrecy of voting is ensured at the polling station, the BiH Central Election Commission announced, reports the Patria News Agency.

Voters can check the location of their polling station by visiting the BiH CEC website www.izbori.ba and clicking on the link “Are you registered”, then entering the requested data (first name, last name, and JMB) into the empty fields. Another way to check is by sending an SMS message to the number 091 12 12 12; the message should contain only the JMB, and sending the message costs 0.10 KM + VAT. And of course, the third way to check the polling station location is for the voter to contact the municipal Voter Register Center or call the BiH CEC info lines 033/251-331 or 033/251-332.

Local elections are being held for:

74 municipal councils in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina,
57 municipal assemblies in the Republika Srpska,
131 municipal mayor in Bosnia and Herzegovina,
4 city councils in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bihać, Tuzla, Zenica, and Široki Brijeg),
6 city assemblies in the Republika Srpska (Prijedor, Bijeljina, Banja Luka, Doboj, Zvornik, and Trebinje), 
10 city mayors in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and
The Assembly of Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In addition to 131 mayors and 10 city mayors, the 2016 Local Elections will elect 3,136 councilors/delegates, of which 26 are representatives of national minorities.

A total of 451 political entities are participating in the elections, including:

102 political parties;
103 coalitions;
171 independent candidates;
17 lists of independent candidates;
52 independent candidates on behalf of 52 groups of citizens, and
6 independent candidates on behalf of 6 citizens' associations.

A total of 30,445 candidates have been certified, including 418 candidates for mayors/city mayors, 29,884 candidates for municipal councils or municipal assemblies or city councils or city assemblies and the Assembly of Brčko District of BiH, and 143 candidates representing national minorities.

Voters:

On August 25 of this year, the BiH Central Election Commission made a decision to close and confirm the Central Voter Register for the 2016 Local Elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

A total of 3,263,906 voters are registered in the Central Voter Register, as follows:

-  the number of regular voters for the 2016 Local Elections, as of August 18, 2016, at 24:00, is 3,177,557:

-  the number of voters with the status of displaced persons voting in absentia is 8,946;

-  the number of voters with the status of displaced persons voting in person is 12,005;

-  the number of voters voting in diplomatic-consular missions of BiH is 287, and

-  the number of voters voting by mail is 65,111.

Polling Stations and Mobile Teams

A total of 5,469 polling stations and 318 mobile teams have been established throughout BiH.

We remind you that one polling station will be open on October 2, 2016, at the BiH Embassy in Vienna, the BiH Honorary Consulate in Graz, the BiH General Consulate in Munich, the BiH General Consulate in Stuttgart, and the BiH Embassy in Belgrade.