Pod lupom recorded irregularities in Prijedor: Family voting, one person voted multiple times

(Patria) - The Coalition for Free and Fair Elections ''Pod lupom'' reported on the voting process and voter turnout in Prijedor until 2:00 PM.

Among the irregularities in the voting process, observers of the Coalition „Pod lupom“ recorded that at polling station 009B063 a voter inserted multiple ballots into the ballot box, while at polling station 009B035 one person was allowed to vote for multiple people on several occasions.

At nearly half of the polling stations (47%), up to ten cases of family voting were recorded. Also, at more than half of the polling stations (56.5%), cases of voters being turned away from the polling station because they were not on the Extract from the Central Voters' Register (up to 10 cases of this type of irregularity) were recorded.

At one polling station (009B062), there was open canvassing to vote for a specific political entity. At every fifth polling station, at least one case was recorded where the same person provided assistance to a larger number of voters to vote in the booth. Up to ten cases of voting without proper voter identification were recorded at seven polling stations (009B035, 009B038, 009B042, 009B051-B, 009B063, 009B065, 009B085).

During voting, measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 were not applied at 8.7% of polling stations.

At six polling stations, there were written remarks or objections from election process observers.

A violation of the election silence was recorded in the center of Prijedor and refers to the use of an interactive billboard, and the Coalition „Pod lupom“ has prepared an objection for the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is the first-instance body competent in this case. Political entities clearly had the opportunity to pay for their own promotion until the day the election silence begins, i.e., 24 hours before the opening of polling stations, and they failed to do so.

Citizen reports

The Coalition „Pod lupom“ received reports of two cases of violation of election silence on social networks; however, due to the appearance of accounts on social networks that cannot be linked to political entities, these irregularities were not treated under the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the event of determining the ownership of the page on social networks, the Coalition „Pod lupom“ will process these reports and forward them to the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

A particularly concerning case reported by two citizens relates to pressure on voters to vote for a candidate from a phone number registered to the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund of Republika Srpska – Prijedor branch. The case was reported to the Prijedor Police Administration of the Ministry of Interior of Republika Srpska.

Citizens can report all observed irregularities during election day to the Coalition ''Pod lupom'' at the toll-free number 080 05 05 05 or via the official social networks of the Coalition „Pod lupom“. The next press conference will be held at 9:00 PM, when the Coalition „Pod lupom“ will provide information on voter turnout, the voting process, the closing of polling stations, and preliminary results for the election of the Mayor of the City of Prijedor.