Testing of the electronic system to identify voters and enter number of votes has started, which is characterized as a historic moment for Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Johann Sattler, head of the Delegation of the European Union, who supported the computerization of the electoral process and its testing, emphasized in its speech that this is the next step in the process of improving the electoral process.
According to him, the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH CEC) has professionalism but it needs support also in information technology, which is something that is constantly being forgotten and which is the essence of the process.
He indicated that electronic identification of voters and the electronic entry of the number of votes will be tested. The president of BiH CEC Mr. Suad Arnautović called this a historic day, because new technologies will be tested throughout the country. There is a possibility to apply these technologies over the course of the next election cycles.
Mr. Arnautović pointed out that the electronic system will be tested in 165 polling stations in 10 municipalities and cities. The electronic identification system implies identification based on fingerprints, while the electronic system of entering the number of votes implies that at each polling station there will be a tablet with a program that will be used to enter data online and storage them into the server of the Central Election Commission.
The President of the BiH CEC noted that this will also mean a faster publication of the election results. He called on parliamentarians to adopt amendments to the law that will enable these technical improvements to the electoral process.
As Mr. Sattler said this is not a magic wand but is a tool to improve the electoral system and will be used to support the BiH CEC. The amount of this support is EUR 700,000.
We would like to use this opportunity so to remind you that the Coalition “Pod lupom” has been advocating the introduction of new technologies into the electoral process for a long time and the two priority recommendations of the Coalition “Pod lupom” are related to the electronic identification of voters at the polling station and ensuring that the voting results from the polling station are entered into the BiH CEC’s electronic system (JIIS) immediately after the voting results are determined for each level of government.
In the Coalition “Pod lupom” they hope that the above-mentioned new technologies will be introduced in the electoral process already by the next election.
