For the 2022 General Elections, the Coalition “Pod lupom” recorded a serious violation of the BiH Election Law in Novi Grad (formerly Bosanski Novi) on election day (October 2, 2022). The case involved the delivery of two bundles of pre-marked ballots to the polling station in Hozići (007B051). The municipal election commission, the Central Election Commission of BiH, the police, and the prosecutor’s office were immediately notified of the incident.
Since the seized ballots included voting papers for both state-level and entity-level elections, the BiH Prosecutor’s Office and the District Prosecutor’s Office Prijedor acted in coordination the same day. The Chief Prosecutor of the BiH Prosecutor’s Office, in coordination with the Chief Prosecutor of OJT Prijedor, instructed the RS Ministry of the Interior to arrest five members of the polling station committee from Novi Grad.
At the repeat elections held seven days later, the electoral process proceeded without issues. By the end of December that same year, the BiH Prosecutor’s Office filed an indictment against two individuals charged with violating provisions of the BiH Election Law and the Rulebook on Conducting Elections in BiH. The indictment stated that on October 1 and 2, 2022, in the premises of the Hozići Community Center, where the polling station was located, S.H., acting as the president of the polling station committee, and E.V., as a member, had, by prior agreement and without authorization, pre-filled 400 ballot papers before election day.
Out of that number, 100 ballots were unlawfully filled for Level 703 – Presidency of BiH (Serb member), another 100 for Level 521 – House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, and 100 for Level 301 – National Assembly of Republika Srpska. Additionally, 49 ballots were unlawfully filled and certified for Level 600 – President and Vice President of Republika Srpska, as well as another 51 ballots for the same level.
The accused were charged, as members of the polling station committee, with attempting to falsify election results by adding pre-filled ballots, thereby committing the criminal offense of Election Fraud under Article 154 of the BiH Criminal Code.
This article stipulates that individuals found guilty of election fraud may be sentenced to imprisonment ranging from six months to five years.
Almost three years after the election fraud was committed, the perpetrators have finally been convicted. In late September 2025, the BiH Prosecutor’s Office received a second-instance ruling from the BiH Court upholding the Prosecutor’s Office appeal and delivering a guilty verdict: the accused S.H. was sentenced to one year in prison, while E.V. received a ten-month prison sentence.
Although this represents a positive example where perpetrators of election-related crimes have been sanctioned, there remains a pressing need for more efficient and timely prosecution of electoral irregularities. This is essential to restore citizens’ trust in the electoral process and institutions and to ensure that sanctions serve as an effective deterrent.
