The Coalition for Free and Fair Elections “Pod lupom” informs the public that for the Early Election for the President of Republika Srpska from among the Serb people, it has deployed nearly 400 citizen, non-partisan election day observers who will monitor the entire election process at approximately every fifth polling station across Republika Srpska. The observers will monitor the opening of polling stations, the voting process, the closing of polling stations, the counting of ballots, the packaging of election materials, and voter turnout.
The Coalition’s Call Center is receiving all field data, while the Legal Team of the Coalition “Pod lupom” is working on addressing the identified irregularities. Reporting is conducted in real time.
Our observers have been deployed to a representative sample of selected polling stations throughout all parts of Republika Srpska, enabling statistically reliable monitoring and reporting on the course of election day. In this way, the Coalition “Pod lupom” will obtain a trustworthy overview of the regularity of the election process, the Coalition stated.
Access of Observers to Polling Stations
Almost all observers of the Coalition “Pod lupom” began their monitoring activities without obstruction. Unfortunately, in a small number of cases, observers could not access polling stations due to severe weather conditions, procedural obstacles, or outright denial of access (Teslić – 074B002B; Petrovo – 045B006). All cases involving denial of access have been resolved, and observers have since continued their monitoring without interruption.
Opening of Polling Stations
The majority of polling stations opened on time. Precisely at 7:00 a.m., 92.6% of polling stations opened; from 7:01 to 7:15, an additional 6.5% opened; and 0.9% opened with delays up to 8:00 a.m.
According to the latest information, due to severe weather conditions, voting will not take place at at least one polling station. The weather conditions that have recently affected Bosnia and Herzegovina may also impact voter turnout.
Election Irregularities
By 9:00 a.m., the Coalition “Pod lupom” had recorded 10 serious election irregularities, including:
- 4 cases of violation of the election silence,
- 2 cases of denial of observer access (Teslić – 074B002B; Petrovo – 045B006),
- 2 cases of missing election materials (Modriča – 024B011; Prijedor – 009B087),
- 1 case of unlawful publication of public opinion polling results, and
- 1 case of pressure on voters.
Among other irregularities, the following were recorded: political propaganda materials in the vicinity of polling stations (9 polling stations); indications of trading positions within polling station committees (7 polling stations); indications that a polling station committee president and deputy president were affiliated with political parties (3 polling stations). Additionally, at 3 polling stations, the list of all polling station committee members with the names of their nominating political subjects was not properly displayed as required.
The Coalition “Pod lupom” urged political subjects to respect the Election Law of BiH, refrain from engaging in election irregularities, and respect the ongoing election silence.
The Coalition also called on citizens to report any election irregularities they observe via the toll-free number 080 05 05 05 or through the social media channels of the Coalition “Pod lupom”.
The next press release regarding the voting process, voter turnout by 11:00 a.m., and election irregularities recorded by 12:00 p.m. will be published at 1:00 p.m. on the website www.podlupom.org, while the next press conference will be held at 10:00 p.m. at the Hotel Holiday in Sarajevo.
