BS
The Central Election Commission (CIK) fined SNSD 8,000 KM for premature campaigning. The Coalition for Free and Fair Elections “Pod lupom” reported the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats – SNSD – Milorad Dodik at the end of June for premature campaigning and misuse of public resources.
On the official Facebook page of the SNSD City Board Banja Luka, two videos were published showing the start of reconstruction works on the Prijedor road in the settlement of Dragočaj, Banja Luka. The event was attended by SNSD president Milorad Dodik.
At the beginning of the first video, it was stated that the local community council had submitted an initiative for reconstruction and repair of the road, but had not received a response from the city. “Thanks to President Milorad Dodik, who promised last year that this would be done, as you can see today it is being carried out,” the video said. At the beginning of the second video, Milorad Dodik addressed those present: “…You deserve this, we want to thank you for all the cooperation. The city is responsible for this road, not us. But we said, let’s do it. And here we are. I am only saying what is true. In any case, we are finishing it. What we say, we will finish. Today the republic is in a good position, in good condition. And we must build our special way of life. A way of life means building a road, a water supply system, a kindergarten. There are locations, we will approve funds for that kindergarten as well.”
The Election Law of BiH defines premature campaigning as “any form of campaign activity undertaken by political subjects in the period from the announcement of elections until the official start of the election campaign.” It also defines an election campaign as “actions and procedures… during which a political subject informs voters and the public about its programs and candidates for the upcoming elections in a legally prescribed manner.”
Given the statements published on SNSD’s Facebook page, the Coalition “Pod lupom” considered this an electoral irregularity.
CIK requested an explanation from SNSD, which responded that the videos did not constitute premature campaigning because voters were not informed about political programs or candidates for the upcoming elections. CIK rejected the appeal, concluding that premature campaigning and misuse of public resources violated the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina. “CIK does not dispute the works or projects of the republican authorities, but what is disputed is that they were presented and published on the official Facebook page of the SNSD City Board Banja Luka, which clearly shows that these activities and future projects are presented as activities of a political party, thereby promoting it during a period when this is prohibited by law,” the CIK decision stated.
When issuing the fine, CIK considered as an aggravating circumstance the fact that SNSD had already been fined three times in this election cycle for premature campaigning and once for misuse of public resources.
