Željko Bakalar new president of the Central Election Commission, Rogić did not vote

SARAJEVO, (Patria) – The members of the Central Election Commission today elected a new president of the commission, and with six votes in favor and one invalid ballot, Željko Bakalar was elected.

At the beginning of today's session, CEC BiH member Vlado Rogić withdrew his candidacy.

The president of the CEC, Vanja Bjelica-Prutina, whose term expires today, repeated the vote for the candidate list for the president of the CEC, which included only one candidate, Željko Bakalar, and for which six members voted, while Vlado Rogić voted against. According to the rotation, the head of the CEC comes from the Croatian people.

After all members of the CEC voted, the Commission counted the votes. Bakalar received six votes, while one ballot was invalid, belonging to Vlado Rogić, who did not circle the number in front of the candidate's name.

Bakalar stated that it is a great honor and responsibility for him to serve as the president of the CEC. He thanked the outgoing president who invested great energy in addressing some of the problems they faced.

“This institution, even in these circumstances of an epidemic and with the lack of secured funds, but with a promise that this will also be done, must continue with coordination and cooperation and active participation in all activities ahead of us. I expect transparency in the work of the institution so that the public, citizens, and political actors know what we are doing,” said Bakalar.

Vanja Bjelica-Prutina briefly presented what the CEC had done in the previous period.

“The CEC must be significantly more proactive in its work, point out problems, and offer solutions for resolving them, and it should be a public service for strengthening democracy in BiH,” said Bjelica-Prutina.