The main conclusion of this roundtable was the need for changes to the technical requirements of the BiH Election Law in order to improve the electoral process. Participants presented a number of challenges that the local election administration and polling station committees face on Election Day – from the moment of receiving election materials and the lack of portions of those materials at the opening of polling stations, through the voting process, to when the polling stations close, results are determined, and packing of election materials concludes the day.
Some of the recommendations included professionalizing the work and better training of the polling station committee members, introducing transparent ballot boxes, numbering ballots, simplifying procedures for packaging of election materials, and having the work of polling station committee members take place in two shifts so that special attention can be paid to the period after the closing of the polling station, i.e. the process of counting and packaging of election materials.
The Coalition’s final report on the 2014 Election observation was presented (link for the report: http://goo.gl/FJ7VJC), which generated a very productive discussion that focused on improving the electoral process in BiH.
Participants at the roundtable in Tuzla comprised representatives of government institutions in this part of BiH, representatives of the Central Election Commission and local election administration, as well as representatives of the citizenry, academia, media, and civil society.
This roundtable is one of three regional events which are organized as a continuation of activities to improve electoral legislation in BiH. Regional roundtables on the topics of appointments and training of polling station committee members, and irregularities on Election Day will be held on March 17 in Banja Luka and March 24 in Mostar, respectively. The Coalition will issue a report with completed materials after all the events have been held.
