BS
At the end of the first week of July, a video was published on the official Facebook profile of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) Banja Luka about a renovated children’s playground in the Rosulje neighbourhood. The video was accompanied by the following description: “For years, they have unsuccessfully asked the City Administration to build a place where the youngest could play carefree. Today, they finally got it.”
The video itself included the following message: “A large number of citizens confirm that SNSD is right once again, confirming the fact that the city, unfortunately, has not recognized the needs of its citizens within its jurisdiction. But there is someone who has a good understanding of what the people need, what our families need, what our children need, and that is precisely one of those things—playgrounds like this, and this kind of joy and laughter from children…”
The “Pod Lupom” Coalition reported the event, the posts, and the messages associated with it as violations of the Election Law on three grounds: premature election campaigning, misuse of public resources, and the misuse of children for political purposes.
The Central Election Commission requested a statement from SNSD regarding the allegations, while it also asked the Office of the President of Republika Srpska when the decision had been made to renovate and construct 50 children’s playgrounds in Republika Srpska, including the Rosulje playground in Banja Luka.
In its response, SNSD stated that it had not organized the event, that Igor Dodik does not hold an elected mandate nor work in public service, but had attended the event as a private individual. Regarding the children, SNSD emphasized that they had been brought by their parents and that political influence or advocacy directed at children aged three or four was not possible. The Office of the President of Republika Srpska provided the requested decision on the construction and renovation of the playgrounds, which had been adopted on March 12, 2026.
Referring to the relevant legal provisions, as well as the event, the messages delivered there, and the text accompanying the post on the SNSD Banja Luka Facebook page, the Central Election Commission rejected the party’s explanations. It determined that SNSD supporters Igor Dodik and Goran Maričić had violated the Election Law through premature election campaigning and the misuse of children for political purposes. The party was fined 6,500 KM.
In its reasoning, the CIK cited, among other things, a statement by Igor Dodik, the party’s Organizational Secretary, assessing that his statement—“At the initiative of citizens from Rosulje and, of course, with the support of the Office of the President of Republika Srpska, the conditions were provided by the Agricultural School, and today we have opened the playground”—did not merely provide information about the completion of a project. Rather, considering its content and context, the activity was presented as the result of the actions and engagement of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats SNSD – Milorad Dodik.
Goran Maričić, a party supporter, further promoted the political party through his statement, “A large number of citizens confirm that SNSD is right once again (…)”, with the aim of influencing voters, the CIK concluded.
Regarding the misuse of children, the CIK emphasized that the party had unequivocally published a video showing children and that the principle of the best interests of the child had not been respected. This is one of the fundamental principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and is also incorporated into domestic legislation.
When determining the amount of the fine, the Central Election Commission took into account the fact that SNSD had previously been fined 5,000 KM and 6,000 KM for the misuse of children, and that by the Commission’s session on August 13, the party had already been fined six times during the current election cycle for premature election campaigning.
In addition to the financial penalty, the CIK ordered that the disputed post be removed and that the party’s supporters be called upon to comply with the provisions of the Law for which the party had been sanctioned.
