More than 4,000 citizens of BiH want to be non-partisan observers

The Coalition 'Under the Magnifying Glass' – for free and fair elections, presented data today at a press conference in Sarajevo on observing the period before the official start of the election campaign, which indicates that there are quite a few examples where political entities have already started their own promotion. In addition to this, long-term observers of the Coalition in the field have noticed another potential electoral irregularity prohibited by the Election Law, and that is the trading of positions in polling station committees across Bosnia and Herzegovina.

'Regarding the first type of irregularity, there are several cases that can be characterized as paid advertising by political entities even before the official start of the election campaign scheduled for tomorrow, and they relate to the organization of various events by political entities, such as stands, forums, thematic discussions, and the like,' said Ilija Trninić, a member of the Strategic Board of the Coalition 'Under the Magnifying Glass'.

Trninić said that political parties skillfully use the loose provisions of the Election Law that regulate the conduct of the election campaign before its official start, and thus intensively conduct their election campaign. On this occasion, the Coalition expressed concern and publicly asked whether paid advertisements by political entities on social networks and the distribution of propaganda material constitute a violation of the provisions of the Election Law from Chapter 16?

Observers of the Coalition reported a number of situations where representatives of political entities openly discussed the exchange and sale of positions in polling station committees. This could lead to a situation where a larger number of representatives of one political party will be found in them, who will only be formally nominated on behalf of another. This casts a shadow on the regularity of the election process and calls into question the free will of the voters, according to the Coalition's assessment.

Dario Jovanović, director of the Coalition 'Under the Magnifying Glass', said that the Coalition, through a network of seven regional offices and 42 long-term observers, has been intensively working over the past two months to animate election day observers for the General Elections 2014.

'The result is 4,000 applications from citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina who are ready to monitor election day in a non-partisan and impartial manner on behalf of the Coalition. This has exceeded our expectations and the planned number of observers,' said Jovanović. All future observers will undergo training from October 1-10, sign the Code of Conduct, and be accredited by the Central Election Commission.

The Coalition specifically invited citizens of Kotor Varoš, Prozor-Rama, Zvornik, Bijeljina, and Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje to apply as observers, as a lower interest from citizens was recorded in these places.

In the past two weeks, the Coalition 'Under the Magnifying Glass' organized 42 street actions aimed at animating election day observers throughout the country and motivating citizens to report electoral irregularities they notice.

'Data from the field shows us that citizens are aware of the Coalition's work, support it, and are especially pleased that there is an organization that deals with elections in a non-partisan, independent manner. This is particularly encouraging because it comes from smaller and neglected areas in BiH,' said Dženana Alađuz, a member of the Strategic Board of the Coalition.

In the past period, the Coalition has distributed more than 180,000 copies of informational materials throughout BiH, promoting non-partisan election observation and the reporting of electoral irregularities. For this purpose, the Coalition is also starting to observe the pre-election campaign period, which begins tomorrow, September 12, as well as its own media campaign related to electoral irregularities through media outlets across the country.

Citizens are invited to report irregularities by calling the toll-free number 080 05 05 05 or by visiting the website podlupom.org