The Coalition for Free and Fair Elections “Pod lupom” has published its analysis “Functioning of the Center for Voters’ List in Bosnia and Herzegovina”.
In any democratic society, when it comes to the electoral process, it is important to ensure that the Central Voter’s Register (CVR) is updated so to ensure the fairness, transparency and accuracy of the electoral process. CVR represents the foundation of every electoral activity, because decisions on the right to vote and citizens’ participation in the electoral process are based on it. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the competences and the way of functioning of the institutions that are involved in the formatting and updating the CVR.
The goal of the research was to identify the challenges faced by the representatives of the Center for Voters’ List in Bosnia and Herzegovina in terms of updating the Voters’ List, what are the disputed points in the update process and how the processes can be advanced.
A questionnaire to participate in the research was sent to representatives of 87 Centers for Voters’ List, out of 143. The research covered 47 municipalities and cities in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), 39 municipalities and cities in the Republic of Srpska (RS), as well as Brčko District of BiH.
The research discovered that the competences of the Centers for Voters’ List are highly limited and that is necessary to provide continuous access to the data in order to be able to more efficiently detect irregularities and actions towards the competent institutions in order to eliminate them.
In a few municipalities/cities, a larger number of registrations/deregistration of citizens was recorded in the election year, which may indicate electoral engineering, which can significantly affect the results of the election process in smaller municipalities/cities.
It has been proved that it is extremely important for local self-government units to provide adequate material and human resources for the smooth and efficient work of Centers for Voters’ List. This is especially important in election years, when the scope of work and tasks of the Centers becomes more complicated and requires great commitment.
The research showed that it is necessary to improve cooperation with registry offices abroad in terms of more efficient delivering information pertaining to the process of establishing the fact of death of our citizens.
It is necessary to continue discussions with the representatives of all institutions responsible for updating the Central Voters’ List in order to develop recommendations for improving the electoral process and protecting the electoral will of citizens in BiH.
The Central Voters’ List is the basic pillar of the democratic election process. Its accuracy is crucial for ensuring the basic rights of citizens as well as the integrity of elections. By maintaining accurate voter registration data, it is possible for every adult citizen to exercise their right to vote. Also, an accurate Voters’ List protects the electoral process from potential fraud and manipulation, which preserves transparency and citizens’ trust in democratic institutions.
Analysis can be find at: https://podlupom.org/biblioteka/analize-i-istrazivanja-kat/funkcionisanje-centara-za-biracki-spisak-u-bosni-i-hercegovini-novembar-studeni-2023/
