BS
In September, the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections “Pod lupom” reported the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats – SNSD – Milorad Dodik and candidate Savo Minić for premature campaigning and the abuse of public resources for political purposes.
On August 31, news was published on the Nezavisne novine web portal, as well as on the RTRS Vijesti Facebook profile, regarding a decision to be adopted by the Government of Republika Srpska concerning the distribution of financial assistance to elementary school students (100 KM), as well as high school and university students (150 KM) in Republika Srpska. Savo Minić spoke about this decision. During his address at an expanded session of the SNSD Presidency held on August 31, 2026, in Banja Luka, Minić stated, among other things: “I needed the consent of the President and the Presidency to assist all our elementary and high school students with 100 KM, or 150 KM in the case of high school and university students. We will adopt that decision in the Government of Republika Srpska.”
Given that the candidate emphasized needing the consent of the president and presidency of the political entity to which he belongs (SNSD) to adopt such a decision, and considering that he currently holds an executive function, the complainant considered this to be a case of abuse of public resources. Article 7, Paragraph 3 of the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina explicitly prohibits “h) using public funds and resources for the purpose of directly or indirectly buying voter support during an election campaign, which includes, among other things, providing one-off monetary or non-monetary assistance to citizens or categories of citizens, unless such assistance was planned as part of regular budgetary subsidies.”
The Central Election Commission imposed a fine of 22,000 KM on SNSD and a fine of 12,000 KM on candidate Savo Minić. Previously, the Central Election Commission established that this form of presentation is extremely problematic, as a public measure funded from budget resources was directly linked to a political party and its leadership. According to CIK’s assessment, this contributes to the political promotion of the party and its candidates during a period in which conducting an election campaign is prohibited.
