The Coalition for Free and Fair Elections “Pod lupom” and the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CEC BiH), with the support of Democracy International in Bosnia and Herzegovina (DI BiH), organized a professional conference dedicated to sharing experiences and exploring perspectives on the introduction of new technologies into the electoral process of Bosnia and Herzegovina, titled “New Electoral Technologies: Experiences from Local Elections and Application to General Elections.”
The conference brought together a wide range of participants, including representatives of the Central Election Commission of BiH, local election commissions, observers who analyzed the pilot electoral technologies, other civil society actors, media representatives, as well as bilateral and multilateral partners.
The conference was opened by Irena Hadžiabdić, President of the CEC BiH, and Tihana B. Blanc, Director of the Election Integrity Support Project, DI.
“For the first time, during the 2024 Local Elections, we had the opportunity to implement pilot projects, test technologies, assess their quality, and evaluate the compatibility between different technologies, as well as to reflect on the performance of the election administration. In addition to that, our testing provided feedback not only from the election administration, but also from voters, technical operators, and polling station committee presidents. What we have behind us is a very successful test — all indicators confirm that,” emphasized Irena Hadžiabdić, President of the Central Election Commission of BiH.
“Expanding the use of such technology from seven municipalities and the Brčko District to 143 municipalities is a major undertaking that requires significant effort and work. This includes procurement, technology, logistics, programming, new software, training for polling station committees, and technical experts such as operators, so they are equipped to use these new technologies. It also requires adapting the legal framework for the introduction of such technologies, as well as training election observers and civil society actors who need the necessary tools to monitor these new technologies and the elections,” stated Tihana B. Blanc, Director of the Election Integrity Support Project, DI.
As part of the conference program, a demonstration of the use of optical scanners and biometric identification was conducted. This demonstration allowed participants to gain first-hand insight into how electoral technologies function and how they contribute to improving the electoral process.
The panel discussion “Experiences from the 2024 Local Elections” featured contributions from Uma Isić, Electoral Capacity Building Specialist at DI, Selma Zunđa, President of the Municipal Election Commission of Vogošća, and Dario Jovanović, Project Manager of the “Pod lupom” Coalition.
The panel concluded that the new electoral technologies were successfully tested during the 2024 Local Elections and that preparations for their implementation in the 2026 General Elections should begin as soon as possible.
The panel discussion “Application of Electoral Technologies in the 2026 General Elections” featured participants including Irena Hadžiabdić, President of the Central Election Commission of BiH, Tihana B. Blanc, Director of the Election Integrity Support Project (DI), Ahmed Rifatbegović, Political Advisor to the Head of the OSCE Mission to BiH, and Dario Jovanović, Project Manager of the “Pod lupom” Coalition.
The panel discussion concluded that the key priorities for the upcoming period include: securing financial resources for the introduction of new electoral technologies by spring, conducting public procurement procedures for the new technologies, and starting the technical implementation and software adaptation no later than October. Additionally, ensuring the stability of the BiH Election Law and adopting the necessary amendments by autumn 2025, strengthening the institutional capacities of the Central Election Commission, and educating both the election administration and voters were also identified as crucial.
You can watch the full conference “New Electoral Technologies: Experiences from Local Elections and Application to General Elections” HERE.
