'Under the Magnifying Glass': Flaws and Election Irregularities Noted, Secrecy of Voting Compromised, Suspicion of Vote Trading

(Patria) - The Coalition for Free and Fair Elections "Under the Magnifying Glass" announced this morning that it has engaged nearly 850 civic, non-partisan observers for the Local Elections on election day.

As announced at a press conference, they will observe the entire election process at polling stations (opening of polling stations, voting process, closing of polling stations, counting of votes, and packaging of election materials).


Photo: Patria

Data from the field is received by the Call Center, and the Coalition "Under the Magnifying Glass" Legal Team is working on resolving election irregularities, while reporting is done in real-time.

The Coalition "Under the Magnifying Glass" states that it is good that election day began in a way that allowed most observers unimpeded access to polling stations.

Also, polling stations were mostly opened on time without significant delays, with the exception of Fojnica, where the elections were postponed entirely this morning due to a natural disaster.


Photo: Patria

On the other hand, certain flaws and election irregularities were observed. Namely, it is repeated from election cycle to election cycle that local election commissions do not provide lists of observers to election boards, which causes observers of the Coalition "Under the Magnifying Glass" to encounter challenges in accessing polling stations due to procedural flaws. This happened this year in Ilidža, Olovo, Vogošća, Kalesija, Trebinje, and Banja Luka.

Regarding election irregularities, observers recorded a total of 59 critical situations. They reported that in Tuzla, lists of election board members with their party affiliation were not posted at polling stations, which is a violation of the Election Law of BiH.

In this way, citizens-voters, as well as those observing the election process, cannot verify whether there has been trading of positions on election boards.


Photo: Patria

In addition, observers at a smaller number of polling stations across the country expressed suspicion of possible party infiltration into the positions of chairpersons and deputy chairpersons of election boards, as well as vote trading between political entities.

Furthermore, the secrecy of voting was compromised at one polling station each in Banja Luka and Lopare, and there are suspicions of abuse of assistance in voting at one polling station in Živinice.

The lack of election materials at 8.5% of polling stations is also concerning, which is an increase of 6.4% compared to the previous elections.

Additionally, given that the Coalition "Under the Magnifying Glass" also monitors the implementation of new technologies at polling stations, initial information shows that for now, i.e., in the first few hours, the equipment is functioning at almost all polling stations and the voting process is proceeding smoothly.


Photo: Patria

Exceptions include one polling station in Doboj where electronic voter identification is not working, and two polling stations in Tuzla where ballot scanners are not working, at which voting continued without the equipment.

The Coalition "Under the Magnifying Glass" called on political entities to respect the Election Law of BiH, to refrain from election irregularities, and to respect the ongoing election silence.

"Today, it is extremely important that we go to the polls and exercise our right to vote, and to cast our vote for those whom we believe will best represent our interests in the next four years.


Photo: Patria

New technologies are also being tested in elections today, now is the right time for citizens to give their opinion, to participate in testing new technologies, and to continue moving towards their implementation in future elections," the Coalition stated.

They invited citizens to share all their positive or negative experiences from the elections with them today via the form https://mojeiskustvo.podlupom.org/.

Additionally, citizens can still report all election irregularities via the free phone number 080 05 05 05.

The next press release on the voting process, turnout, and election irregularities by 11 AM will be published at 1 PM on the website www.podlupom.org, and the next press conference will be held at 4 PM.