Nothing changes for voters, they vote the same as before, only the ballot is scanned

(Patria) - The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at today's session, adopted the Decision on calling and holding the General Elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2026.

The elections will be held on Sunday, October 4, 2026. Direct elections have been called for: the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, the President and Vice-Presidents of Republika Srpska, and the Cantonal Assemblies in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted the Decision on closing the Central Voters' Register as of May 6, 2026, at 12:00 AM, according to which 3,414,364 voters are registered in the Central Voters' Register.

Every adult citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina is registered in the Central Voters' Register upon obtaining an identity card. Citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina who are abroad, if they wish to apply to vote from abroad, are obliged to submit an application for voting outside Bosnia and Herzegovina by July 21, 2026, on the official website of the Central Election Commission of BiH via the "e-Izbori" portal, where a user manual is available.

The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina today also adopted the Instructions on the deadlines and order of electoral activities for direct elections for the General Elections in 2026, which will be held on Sunday, October 4, 2026.

From May 8 to May 22, applications for certification of participation in the elections for political parties and independent candidates will be submitted. It is important to emphasize that applications for certification of political entities, as well as applications for candidates and candidate lists, are submitted electronically, via the online portal of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina "e-Izbori".

The election campaign begins on September 4, and from today until then, in addition to the ban on paid political advertising, premature campaigning is also prohibited. This means that any form of presentation and promotion of candidates and party programs is forbidden.

Starting today, a special page on the internet portal of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina, titled "General Elections 2026", will be active, which will contain all information about the upcoming elections, as well as all implementation and relevant sub-legal acts and forms.

New technologies will be used in these elections, which will enable the results to be known a few hours after the polling stations close.

CEC member Suad Arnautović explained the voting procedure itself, stating that nothing new happens for the voter in the process.

He explained that, as before, upon entering, the voter is identified using one of the personal documents - an identity card, driver's license, or passport.

Then, he added, the voter is authenticated by fingerprint. Then the voter receives a set of ballots, votes in the booth, i.e., marks the ballot, and then proceeds to the ballot box.

'The difference is that the ballot is not inserted directly into the box, but is first passed through a scanner. Those who are against the process are deliberately misleading the public by claiming this is electronic voting, which it is not. This is the digitalization of the electoral process; there is no change for the voter in their active participation at the polling station. All voters will exercise their right to vote in a simple way,' Arnautović explained.