The ‘Pod lupom’ Coalition publishes its main findings from monitoring election day by 12:00 PM, drawing on reports from observers deployed throughout the country.
Observers have recorded 81 critical situations, i.e.., serious electoral irregularities. These include cases of insufficient polling materials, procedural shortcomings in observers’ access to polling stations, and irregularities during the voting process, such as photographing ballots, failures in the operation of polling station committees, abuse of voting assistance, compromised voting secrecy, and more.
A recurring electoral irregularity observed from one election cycle to the next is family voting, which was recorded at 32% of polling stations nationwide. As a procedural shortcoming, voters were turned away from polling stations due to their names not appearing on the Extract from the Central Voting Registry at 31% of polling stations.
The “Pod lupom” Coalition is also monitoring the implementation of new technologies at polling stations today. By noon, the equipment is functioning properly at almost all polling stations, and the voting process is proceeding smoothly. The exceptions are one polling station in Doboj, where the electronic voter identification system is not operational, and two polling stations in Tuzla, where the ballot scanners are malfunctioning; however, voting has continued without the equipment. Voter education regarding the use of new voting technologies should be further improved, as instructions explaining how to use the piloted technology have not been displayed at 13.4% of polling stations.
Turnout by 11:00 AM
The “Pod lupom” Coalition is monitoring information on voter turnout in the elections. The recorded voter turnout for the Local Elections until 11:00 AM is 14% (with a margin of statistical error of +/- 0.62% at a 0.95 percentage point accuracy interval). Voter turnout in the 2020 Local Elections by 11:00 AM was 16.8%, and 15% in the 2022 General Elections.
The “Pod lupom” Coalition invites citizens to share all their positive or negative election experiences today through the form available at https://mojeiskustvo.podlupom.org/. Additionally, citizens can still report any electoral irregularities via the toll-free number 080 05 05 05. The next press conference regarding the voting process, turnout, and electoral irregularities will take place at 16:00 at the Holiday Hotel in Sarajevo.
