Anonymous citizens’ stories revealing the election reality in Bosnia and Herzegovina have been presented
Since its foundation in 2014, the Coalition “Pod lupom” has been constantly warning public about various forms of pressure on voters in Bosnia and Herzegovina through all its activities. The last survey the Coalition published showed that almost 40% of respondents stated that they had experienced some form of political pressure.
In the Coalition „Pod lupom“ they state that, within this campaign, they are trying to shed light on the pressures on voters in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the forms in which they occur, and help citizens to better understand the pressures on voters and to become more resistant to all forms of pressures and intimidation of voters.
Unfortunately, what we recorded and noticed through our long-term work and what is particularly alarming is the fact that many forms of pressure on voters have become common practice of political entities participating in election races, which has led to the fact that citizens often view pressure on voters as a regular party activities. This is precisely why it is so important for us to work all together so to ensure that citizens know how to actively oppose pressure on voters. – said Jelena Tanasković Mićanović, Coordinator for Public Policies of the Coalition “Pod lupom”.
The Coalition “Pod lupom” states that it is sometimes difficult for citizens to resist pressure on voters, especially it we take into account that political pressures in Bosnia and Herzegovina come from different sources. Citizens mostly experience pressure on voters from their friends and/or acquaintances, then party activists at work, party activists on social networks, then family members, party officials/reprezentatives in influential positions, and superiors at work.
Also, if we look at the bigger picture, it is clear that citizens are very often victims of manipulation by the ruling and other political parties and their leaders who are trying to maintain or increase their power. This form of voter pressure often results in the fact that people are voting out of fear or due to pressure from the community they are living in, rather than freely expressing their true political preferences.
Local people in power also play a significant role in excerting pressure on voters. Through corruption, nepotism and abuse of position, they often manipulate electoral processes in order to stay in power or to progress within it. Unfortunately, voters are facing threats and blackmail attempts aiming at influence the outcome of the election race.
In the Coalition “Pod lupom” they state that they started working directly with people who were exposed to voter pressure. They state that one of the best ways to raise awareness about this topic is for citizens to see/read a concrete cases of pressure on voters and in which ways they can be played out. Part of the anonymous stories is already available at website of the Coalition “Pod lupom”.
With the consent of the citizens who experienced pressure on voters and by hiding their identities and all information that could endanger them, the Coalition „Pod lupom“ started to publish their stories. Stories are published on our website and in the period to come we will continue to publish other citizens’ stories. – added Jelena Tanasković-Mićanović.
They state in the Coalition “Pod lupom” that if the citizens want to be more informed about voter pressures, the Coalition “Pod lupom” has published 10 informative and educational videos on website and YouTube channel which can help citizens to identify voter pressures.
The Coalition „Pod lupom“ calls all citizens to anonymously share with us their stories about the pressure on voters that they experienced. If you were forced to vote for someone you don’t want to vote for, attend party events, gather safe votes for a party or candidate, support and promote a party or candidate on social media, receive gifts or money with instructions on who to vote for, you were promised a job or you had to make a donation to a party, then you were exposed to pressure on the voters! – stated Hasan Kamenjaković, PR of Coalition “Pod lupom”.
Citizens can anonymously share their stories about the pressure on voters they have experienced through the APPLICATION FORM on website www.podlupom.org , email adress info@podlupom.org or via the toll-free number 080 05 05 05.
