SDS warns: Election fraud planned in referendum to recall Teslić mayor

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The Serb Democratic Party (SDS) announced tonight that "election fraud is being planned in the referendum to recall the Mayor of Teslić Municipality", after the polling stations close. 

"Members of polling station committees at a large majority of polling stations, after closing the polls, will not allow observers to view the minutes, even though observers have the right to do so according to the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The plan is to falsify the minutes on the way from the polling station to the Municipal Election Commission and thus change the will of the citizens of Teslić," the party concluded.

The SDS reminded members of polling station committees and the public of Article 5.26 of the Election Law of BiH, which states that the president of the polling station committee shall publicly present a detailed tabular display of voting results at the polling station by political subjects so that the public can have insight into them, and copies of the voting results will be given to accredited observers upon their request. 

The SDS insists that the presidents of the polling station committees allow observers to photograph the minutes after the counting is completed at polling stations where issuing a copy of the minutes is not possible. 

"Observers of the Serb Democratic Party have discovered at several polling stations that individual voters were inserting multiple ballots into the box, which discredits the electoral process itself and casts doubt on the regularity of the voting. An example of this type of electoral fraud is polling station Donji Buletić (No. 074B019C) where Božan Ignjić inserted multiple ballots while voting, due to which voting was interrupted," the statement said. 

The party asks, "how did Božan Ignjić get multiple original ballots, unless they were issued to him by the Election Commission?". The SDS states that it will initiate the issue of criminal liability of the members of the Commission for conducting the referendum in this case.