BS
The “Pod Lupom” Coalition submitted an initiative to the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina to determine whether the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) had violated the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina by conducting a premature election campaign. Namely, on June 29, a video from a television appearance was published on the official Facebook page of Haris Zahiragić, Vice President of SDA, in which he discussed the candidate of the political party for the position of Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the upcoming 2026 General Elections. The video description stated: “When we made the decision on SDA’s candidate for the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, we were not thinking about the campaign, or even about the elections ahead of us, but about who, in these difficult political times around the world—and which will inevitably affect us as well—can best represent the interests of Bosnia and Herzegovina. President Bakir Izetbegović was and remains the only and entirely logical choice for that reason.”
In the video itself, Haris Zahiragić states, among other things: “(…) We truly have no one better than Bakir Izetbegović; not only does SDA have no one better, but in our opinion, Bosniak society as a whole has no one better, given his experience (…).” The video could still be found on the social media platform at the end of August. Link: https://www.facebook.com/reel/2206880056820340
Based on the content of the video and in the context of compliance with the Election Law, the “Pod Lupom” Coalition considered the law to have been violated, arguing that the video constituted election campaigning during the period of premature campaigning prohibited by law. The law stipulates that “during the period of premature election campaigning, conducting election campaigns in electronic, online and print media and through social networks, or any form of public campaign advertising, is prohibited.”
The Central Election Commission initiated a review of the case and requested a statement from SDA regarding the allegations. The party rejected the complaint, arguing that it had been submitted after the statutory deadline, while also presenting other reasons why, in its view, the case did not constitute premature election campaigning. SDA stated that there was significant public interest in being informed about the party’s regular decision, and that at the time the television programme was broadcast, the deadline for submitting candidacies to the Central Election Commission had not yet expired. For these reasons, they argued that the case should be viewed as “clarifying an important decision of the party’s bodies to the public” and that the complaint should be dismissed as unfounded. They also argued that, according to the CIK’s previous practice, it made no sense to sanction a political entity before a candidacy had been certified, given that the candidate’s name could still be changed or the candidacy could ultimately fail to be certified.
The Central Election Commission did not accept SDA’s explanation. In its reasoning, citing statements made in the video, the CIK stated that “the publication of such content constitutes conduct contrary to the provision of Article 7.1 of the Election Law and that the Party is responsible for it, given that its supporter, Haris Zahiragić, made his own statements publicly available through his communication channel, promoting Bakir Izetbegović as a candidate for Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, while emphasizing his previous positions, political experience, personal connections with international actors and his alleged ability to participate in high-level political negotiations on behalf of Bosniaks, which, in the context of an election campaign, constitutes prohibited promotion of potential candidates during the current election cycle, outside the period permitted by law.”
In addition to imposing the fine, the Central Election Commission ordered the disputed recording to be removed. Given that the programme had previously been broadcast on Euronews television, the CIK also forwarded the “Pod Lupom” initiative to the Communications Regulatory Agency for consideration and further action within its jurisdiction.
