The Coalition for Free and Fair Elections “Pod lupom” organized a central conference entitled “The Future of Elections”, which brought together representatives of the BiH authorities, election administration, civil society, the international community and the media, with the aim of considering the necessary steps in implementing reforms to ensure free and fair elections in BiH.
Improving the electoral process is crucial for the further democratic development of BiH. Over the past years, elections in BiH have been marked by numerous challenges, from political obstructions to numerous proven electoral thefts and frauds, including a weak and inadequate institutional response to the aforementioned. Now that BiH is at a turning point and on the verge of introducing new technologies in elections, the need for urgent and crucial steps towards implementing reforms has never been greater.
The conference was opened by Mrs. Aurelie Valtat, Head of the Department for EU Integration, Political Affairs, Press and Information.
“One of the key priorities on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s European path is the harmonisation of the domestic constitutional and electoral framework with European standards, which includes addressing all discriminatory provisions in the Election Law and the Constitution of BiH in accordance with the case law of the European Court of Human Rights in the Sejdić and Finci case, in order to guarantee political equality and non-discrimination for all BiH citizens. It is also necessary for the domestic authorities to implement the remaining recommendations of the OSCE/ODIHR and the Venice Commission towards strengthening electoral integrity,” emphasized Mrs. Valtat.
“I am also pleased that we have encouraging results from the EU-funded pilot project, which tested the use of new technologies in previous elections. Such results indicate the possibility of restoring public trust in the electoral process. However, there is still work to be done,” Mrs. Valtat added.
The Coalition “Pod lupom” has issued concrete proposals and recommendations to improve the electoral process.
Now is the time to implement systemic reforms to protect the votes of voters. We emphasize that the introduction of new technologies at all polling stations is an absolute priority and that preparations for the 2026 General Elections should have started yesterday. This is necessary in order to prevent numerous electoral frauds and thefts that have been proven in the past, such as vote-rigging, vote cancellation, absentee voting, vote counting fraud, etc. In addition, we would like to remind you that new technologies are what the citizens of this country want. The petition of the Coalition “Pod lupom” for the introduction of new technologies was signed by almost 100,000 citizens, and according to a public opinion poll, 83% of BiH citizens support their introduction. – said Mr. Vehid Šehić, President of the Strategic Board of the Coalition “Pod lupom”.
At the first panel discussion, Mr. Darko Babalj, second deputy chairman of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, Mr. Davor Bunoza, Minister of Justice of BiH and Mr. Sherif Špago, representative of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, spoke about the next steps in electoral reform.
The conclusion of the panel was that electoral process reforms must follow the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights, the Constitutional Court of BiH and increasing of the integrity of the electoral process. The initiated reforms must be completed, and new technologies are a priority, including securing funding for the implementation of new technologies at all polling stations.
The panel discussion on key findings and recommendations for improving the electoral process was attended by Mrs. Irena Hadžiabdić, President of the Central Election Commission of BiH (CEC BiH), Mrs. Martina Barker-Ciganikova, Election Advisor at the OSCE/ODIHR, Mrs. Ivana Korajlić, Executive Director of Transparency International BiH, and Mr. Dario Jovanović, Project Manager of the Coalition “Pod lupom”.
The need for timely and stricter sanctions for all observed electoral irregularities was highlighted, in order to restore citizens’ trust in elections in BiH.
It was highlighted that the implementation of all new technologies (scanners, electronic identification and video surveillance) at all polling stations would cost up to 112 million KM.
“All partners in relevant institutions, in cooperation with the CEC BiH, must urgently engage in the preparation of everything necessary for the successful implementation of the 2026 General Elections. Without urgent funding for specific election technologies, we will not take adequate steps towards improving the election process”. – said Mrs. Hadžiabdić.
The final panel discussion on the key characteristics of functional democracies brought together ambassadors from countries with a long-standing democratic tradition, with the aim of exchanging experiences and examples of good practices that can be useful for improving the electoral process in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The panel was attended by Mrs. María Molina Álvarez de Toledo, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain to BiH, Mr. François Delmas, Ambassador of the Republic of France to BiH, and Mr. Henk van den Dool, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to BiH.
It was concluded that the key decisions of functional democracies are citizens’ trust, free and strong institutions, judiciary, media and civil society, and politicians who work for people and not for parties. Also, improving the electoral process is part of EU integration and the path the country must follow, and the first priority on that path.
In the coming period, the Coalition “Pod lupom” will advocate for the urgent implementation of recommendations for improving the electoral process, and will actively work to strengthen the integrity of elections in BiH.
