BS
In mid-September, the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections “Pod lupom” reported Ujedinjena Srpska and candidate Nenad Stevandić for misusing children for political purposes.
On September 15, a reel (video greeting) was published on the official Facebook profile of Dr. Nenad Stevandić, president of the Ujedinjena Srpska party, showing children filmed at party rallies in at least two cities: Srbac and Istočno Sarajevo.
According to the applicant’s assessment, children have neither the legal nor the actual capacity to understand the political context, the content of the election campaign, or the consequences of public exposure for political promotion. Their presence and depiction necessarily amount to the exploitation of their person to reinforce the party’s political message. Any form of involving children in political promotion is an unacceptable exploitation of minors punishable under the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
CIK established a violation of Article 7.3 of the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina, specifically the misuse of children for political purposes. Ujedinjena Srpska was issued a fine of 5,000 KM, and candidate Nenad Stevandić was issued a fine in the same amount. CIK assessed that in this specific case, the best interest of the child—one of the fundamental principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international and domestic regulations—was not respected.
“Children were misused by Nenad Stevandić, candidate of the political party Ujedinjena Srpska, by involving them in this party’s election campaign, all for the purpose of self-interest or gaining prestige, interests, goals, and promotion of the political party in the context of the 2026 General Elections,” CIK announced in its decision.
