The Central Election Commission fined the Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina (SDP) 3,500 BAM for conducting a premature campaign

The Coalition for Free and Fair Elections “Pod lupom” reported SDP at the end of June for engaging in premature campaigning.

On the Facebook page “Support Adnan Šteta,” a video was posted in which Adnan Šteta, the current Minister of Transport in the Government of Sarajevo Canton and president of the Sarajevo cantonal organization of SDP, spoke about SDP’s plans for the upcoming 2026 elections. In the video, he stated: “A strong SDP is their problem in Sarajevo, because with a strong SDP in Sarajevo, a strong SDP in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and with all the good things we did in 2022 and 2024 and the improvements we achieved, we have been telling them for months since last year that in the October elections in Sarajevo we will win. Not just improve results, but win. We will win convincingly. We will defeat them all together.”

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 the election campaign as “actions and procedures… during which a political subject, in a legally prescribed manner, informs voters and the public about its programs and candidates for the upcoming elections.”

CIK requested clarification from SDP, which responded that the disputed video post does not represent a premature election campaign nor the official position of SDP, and that the party cannot be held responsible for content not published on its official channel. However, CIK concluded: “From the content of the cited statement, it follows that a supporter, using the pronoun ‘we,’ speaks on behalf of the political subject SDP BiH, directly addressing voters regarding the upcoming elections, presenting claims and expectations of electoral victory of that political subject in Sarajevo”.

When imposing the financial sanction, CIK assessed that an aggravating circumstance was the fact that SDP BiH had already been fined once during this election cycle for an electoral irregularity.