Under the Magnifying Glass: Numerous Violations of Regulations Before the Election Campaign Begins

The "Under the Magnifying Glass" Coalition recorded numerous violations of election regulations and rules during the observation of the pre-election period in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which they presented today at a press conference in Sarajevo. An appeal was also sent to the Central Election Commission of BiH and investigative bodies to initiate proceedings and sanction the perpetrators.

Long-term observers of the "Under the Magnifying Glass" Coalition have been monitoring the pre-election period since July 18 through seven regional offices across BiH and 41 long-term observers in the field. The first preliminary report on the observation of the pre-election period in BiH is based on the analysis of 950 field reports, and the focus of observation was on political entities, election administration, media, civil society, and citizens.

Political Entities

The most frequent cases of violations of election regulations and rules before the start of the election campaign by political entities relate to exerting pressure on voters, vote-buying, trading positions in polling station committees, abuse of public resources, paid public advertising, and organizing various forms of celebrations and gatherings with citizens under the guise of regular political activities.

The "Under the Magnifying Glass" Coalition recorded voter pressure and vote-buying in 4 municipalities (Busovača, Šekovići, Sokolac, and Velika Kladuša). Voter pressure and vote-buying represent the most serious forms of election rule violations and are criminal offenses under the criminal legislation of BiH with penalties of up to 5 years in prison.

Trading positions in polling station committees was recorded in 11 municipalities in BiH (Foča FBiH, Han Pijesak, Istočno Novo Sarajevo, Kiseljak, Kotor Varoš, Mrkonjić Grad, Rogatica, Sokolac, Srbac, Teslić, and Travnik).

We remind you that the Election Law of BiH explicitly prohibits such practices through the provision that one political entity cannot have more than one representative in a polling station committee. We warned about this problem, offered a proposed solution in the form of an amendment for parliamentary procedure, however, the amendment was not supported by delegates and deputies," said the project director of the "Under the Magnifying Glass" Coalition - Dario Jovanović.

In almost all municipalities, abuse of public resources was observed in the period before the official start of the election campaign, which is reflected in the significant intensification of infrastructure works (reconstruction of roads and streets, local roads, housing construction, reconstruction of residential and other buildings) in local self-government units and through the use of official and public premises for campaign purposes.

One of the key prerequisites for holding free and fair elections is an equal "starting position" for all candidates in the elections, which is significantly disrupted through the abuse of public resources for campaign purposes, most often by those candidates who enter the election race from a position of power - emphasized Jovanović.

Although the Election Law of BiH does not permit promotion for political entities within or on buildings where government bodies at all levels are located, in 11 municipalities, political entities used municipal/city and other public premises for promotional purposes.

The coalition also recorded various activities of political entities that can be interpreted as an election campaign in 41 municipalities/cities. These most often include advertising on social networks, organizing celebrations for voters, public forums, tidying up public areas, distributing leaflets, etc.

A certain number of activities such as party conventions and academies were also recorded, which are not prohibited by law as they can be considered regular activities of political entities. The Coalition stated that it is symptomatic that such activities are not organized in the same months of non-election years, and they are used to present candidates, and often feature high-ranking party guests who are simultaneously holders of executive and/or legislative authority.

Election Administration

The "Under the Magnifying Glass" Coalition assessed that the work of the Central Election Commission of BiH (CEC) is positive in the part related to the organization of elections and the implementation of activities foreseen by the election calendar, given that no irregularities in its work or violations of legal provisions and regulations were recorded.

However, the Coalition states that, "in a large number of cases, there is a lack of concrete reaction from the CEC BiH to observed problems, shortcomings, and irregularities in the election process, especially in the part related to sanctioning violators.".

He added that the CEC also rarely reacts ex officio, and adequate sanctions from the CEC for more serious violations of the election process are also missing, especially when it comes to allegations of trading positions in polling station committees.

All observed irregularities will be submitted by the "Under the Magnifying Glass" Coalition to the Central Election Commission of BiH, and attention will be drawn to initiating verification procedures for this information and sanctioning the perpetrators where applicable.