BS
In mid-August, the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections “Pod lupom” reported the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats – SNSD – Milorad Dodik for premature campaigning.
The official Facebook page of the political entity SNSD (SNSD Banja Luka) published a video about the renovated community center in Prijakovci, and the description of the video stated that it was renovated thanks to SNSD councilors, their initiative, and the support of coalition partners.
The “Pod lupom” Coalition considered that highlighting the merits of a single political entity, in this case SNSD, in relation to others holding the same positions (councilors) gives voters a recommendation to support this political entity in the upcoming elections as well, which is strictly prohibited in the case of premature campaigning.
The Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina defines a premature election campaign as “any form of campaign activities undertaken by political entities in the period from the calling of elections until the official start of the election campaign.”
Based on the publication, the Coalition considered that this was a violation of Article 7.1 of the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
CIK determined that it was a case of premature campaigning, and the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats – SNSD – Milorad Dodik was fined in the amount of 8,500 BAM. When imposing the fine, CIK took into account that SNSD had already been penalized eleven times for premature campaigning by the time the fine was issued.
