The Coalition for Free and Fair Elections “Pod lupom ” warns the Competent Authorities that for certain number of candidates for Presidents and Deputy Presidents of Polling Station Committees, who are now legally prohibited from being affiliated to political entities, there are indications, but also concrete evidence on their affiliation to political entities. Also, the Coalition calls the CEC BiH to remove all those who compromise independent and non-partisan positions in Polling Station Committees from the list and to apply the penalties provided, as well as to submit information about violations of legal provisions to the competent prosecutors for further processing.
The electoral law of Bosnia and Herzegovina is crystal clear – Presidents and Deputy Presidents of Polling Station Committees must be non-partisan and able to perform their duties in a politically impartial manner. Very worrying is the fact that there is more and more evidence coming from CSOs, as well as from citizens and political subjects, indicating the political bias of those nominated for the above-mentioned positions, which is a direct violation of election rules. Many of them still holding some positions within political entities’ bodies or are members of those entities, while some have only formally left political entities.
The Coalition “Pod lupom” has been warning for years that Polling Station Committees are one of the weakest links in the electoral process in BiH, and unfortunately, despite attempts to partially depoliticize them and legally regulate this issue, political entities do not want to give up control over Polling Station Committees. Also, there will be a huge number of falsified forms from political entities with which candidates will prove their formal exclusion from the party, but the truth is that such candidates are not impartial and are members of political entities.
We would like to remind you that all the candidates who applied to be elected for Presidents and Deputy Presidents of Polling Station Committees had to submit a statement indicating that they are not members of political entities, which they signed under full material and criminal liability. When the connection of such persons with a political entity is proven, the Coalition “Pod lupom” is of the opinion that it is a case of misleading the competent institutions and attempts to circumvent legal regulations, for which, according to the criminal legislation, a prison sentence of three months to five years is provided.
The Coalition “Pod lupom” calls on the CEC BIH to act proactively and, in all proven cases, to immediately remove political entities’ members from the list of candidates for non-partisan Presidents/Deputies in Polling Station Committees and impose the prescribed sanctions on them for illegal activity and endangering the integrity of the electoral process, and to inform the competent prosecutor’s offices about the mentioned cases for the purpose of further processing.
It is important to emphasize that elections represent the foundation of a democratic society and that any attempt to manipulate or disrespect the electoral process directly threatens citizens’ trust in institutions and democratic procedures. It is necessary to continuously take the necessary measures to ensure that the elections in BiH are free, fair and transparent, and in accordance with the electoral code.
