SNSD and HDZ BiH are obstructing the General Elections, the deadline for adopting the BiH Budget is the beginning of May

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The deadline for adopting the BiH Budget, in order to enable the holding of the General Elections, is May, when the elections will be called for Sunday, October 2nd.

The Central Election Commission of BiH calls for elections in accordance with the Election Law at least 150 days before the elections are held. The elections should be called no later than May 5th.

“Funds for the implementation of the elections must be provided by the institutions referred to in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) of this article within 15 days of the decision of the Central Election Commission of BiH on calling the elections,” states the Election Law of BiH.

The General Elections are fully financed from the state budget and cannot be financed from temporary financing. BiH has entered its second year of temporary financing based on the 2020 Budget.

The OSCE Mission, as well as other international institutions and embassies, have been calling on state-level authorities for months to adopt the Budget of BiH institutions and international obligations.

For the General Elections, 9.7 million KM are needed. In addition, the Central Election Commission of BiH has requested an additional two million KM for increased compensation for members of polling stations, as well as an additional ten million KM for the introduction of new digital technologies in the election process.

The obstruction of the budget adoption, currently carried out by SNSD and HDZ BiH, is also an attack on democracy because it prevents the holding of elections. Although these two parties have announced an election boycott, it is evident that they will do everything to prevent the General Elections from being held and thus hold all citizens of BiH hostage to their irresponsible policies. Such actions should be prevented as soon as possible.