Voting in the postponed elections at most polling stations is proceeding according to the rules, with a certain number of incidents.
The Coalition “Pod lupom” published key findings from its observation of the postponed elections by 3:00 PM, based on reports from citizen observers deployed in Fojnica, Kiseljak, Konjic, and Kreševo.
The “Pod lupom” has recorded that party observers in Fojnica have been using parallel voter lists and keeping records of voters who have cast their ballots. Pod lupom’s observers at three monitored polling stations in Fojnica (114A007, 114A014, and 114A017) logged complaints regarding these irregularities. According to the “Pod lupom” mobile team, a similar situation was observed at other polling stations in Fojnica. According to polling station committees and the Municipal Election Commission (MEC) in Fojnica, the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CEC BiH) has approved the use of parallel voter lists by party observers at polling stations. What is particularly problematic is that some of the voter lists held by party observers contain the personal data of citizen voters, potentially violating the Personal Data Protection Law in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Additionally, at polling station 114A007, it was recorded that the polling station committee member responsible for identification was reading voters’ names aloud, which is prohibited to prevent undue pressure on voters and electoral irregularities at polling stations.
Although by law, the Central Voter Register should be public, extracts from the Central Voter Register are provided only upon request by political entities, and they should not contain personal data of citizens voters. The Coalition “Pod lupom” alerts that such cases, where party observers have parallel voter lists to check which voters have cast their ballots, especially when combined with instances where voters’ names are read aloud and party observers have access to personal data of citizens voters, could constitute a serious electoral irregularity in the form of undue pressure on voters and illegal processing of personal data.
We would like to point out that the Coalition „Pod lupom“ and the wider public still do not have access to the Central Voter Register through the website of the CEC BiH, even though this is required by the latest amendments to the BiH Election Law. Paradoxically, while political entities have access to printed versions of voter lists, which they use for electoral manipulations, citizen voters and independent observers working to improve the electoral process and protect citizens from electoral fraud are deprived of this essential resource.
Other Observation Findings
Regarding other electoral irregularities, the Coalition recorded that voting was allowed at 3 polling stations without checking the prescribed identification documents. Instances, where voters were turned away because they were not on the Central Voter Register extract, were recorded at 8 observed polling stations. Family voting, an electoral irregularity that repeatedly occurs in every election, was recorded at 13 observed polling stations.
At 8 polling stations, one person assisted a larger number of voters in the voting booth. Additionally, at 8 polling stations, voters who received assistance from another person did not have confirmation that such assistance was necessary. It is worth noting that polling station committees do have the discretion to allow a voter to receive assistance without proof of such need if they determine that the voter is unable to vote independently.
Among other irregularities were 4 instances of ballot photographing, breaches of voting secrecy at 3 polling stations, and the presence of unauthorized persons at one polling station.
Voter Turnout by 3:00 PM
The Coalition “Pod lupom” also monitors voter turnout for the 2024 Local Elections in Fojnica, Kiseljak, Konjic, and Kreševo. The recorded turnout in the postponed elections by 3:00 PM is 37.1% (with a margin of statistical error of +/- 2.06% at a 95% confidence interval).
The turnout in the regular Local Elections held on October 6 by 3:00 PM was 33.2% (with a margin of statistical error of +/- 0.84% at a 95% confidence interval).
The Coalition “Pod lupom” invites citizens to share all their positive or negative election experiences today through the form available at https://mojeiskustvo.podlupom.org/. Citizens can also continue to report any election irregularities via the toll-free phone number 080 05 05 05.
The public and media will be informed about the findings of the Coalition “Pod lupom” regarding the election process for the postponed elections in real time through press releases, which will be published on www.podlupom.org. The next press release is scheduled for 10:00 PM.
