{"id":20856,"date":"2026-03-11T14:14:27","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T13:14:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/podlupom.org\/?p=20856"},"modified":"2026-03-11T14:14:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T13:14:27","slug":"the-central-voters-register-between-rules-and-reality-new-episode-of-the-election-compass-podcast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/podlupom.org\/en\/press\/news\/the-central-voters-register-between-rules-and-reality-new-episode-of-the-election-compass-podcast\/","title":{"rendered":"The Central Voters Register Between Rules and Reality \u2013 New Episode of the \u201cElection Compass\u201d Podcast"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Coalition for Free and Fair Elections \u201cPod lupom\u201d<\/strong> has released a new episode of its informative and educational podcast \u201cElection Compass\u201d<\/strong>, focusing on one of the most frequently discussed elements of the electoral process \u2014 the Central Voters Register of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CVR)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In the conversation hosted by Hasan Kamenjakovi\u0107, the guest of the episode is Dario Jovanovi\u0107, Project Manager of the Coalition \u201cPod lupom\u201d, who explains in detail what the CVR is, who administers it, how up to date it is, whether it is truly public, and discusses electoral irregularities associated with it.<\/p>\n

The CVR, managed by the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CEC BiH)<\/strong>, represents a database of all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina who have the right to vote. In public discourse, concerns are often raised about the fact that Bosnia and Herzegovina has around 3.2 million registered voters<\/strong>, while population estimates are around 3.1 million<\/strong>, which creates room for suspicion and potential manipulation. Jovanovi\u0107 explains the reasons behind the so-called \u201cinflation\u201d of the CVR.<\/p>\n

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Dario Jovanovi\u0107, projekt menad\u017eer Koalicije “Pod lupom”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Part of the explanation lies in the rules themselves and does not necessarily indicate abuse. Anyone who holds the citizenship of Bosnia and Herzegovina and is 18 years old, or will turn 18 by election day, will appear on the extract of the CVR in a municipality or city. As a result, people who do not live in Bosnia and Herzegovina are, de facto, included on the voters register. According to some estimates, this includes around 400,000 people living in the diaspora<\/strong>, which is currently in line with the law and existing regulations, Jovanovi\u0107 states.<\/p>\n

However, problems arise when the voters register is abused. Jovanovi\u0107 recalls that for years there have been warnings about the presence of deceased persons on the voters register, and that in 2018<\/strong> the CEC removed 5,500 deceased individuals<\/strong> from the list. He further explains that it is technically impossible to completely prevent a certain number of deceased persons from appearing on the register because it is finalized 45 days before election day<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The presence of deceased persons on the voters register is not a problem in itself, as long as their identities are not abused. The problem occurs when someone votes on their behalf, signs the CVR extracts, uses unused ballots and thereby falsifies results, committing electoral fraud by increasing the number of votes for a particular candidate and artificially inflating voter turnout, Jovanovi\u0107 emphasizes.<\/p>\n

A particularly sensitive issue concerns the public accessibility of the CVR<\/strong>. Although the law stipulates that the CVR and its extracts are public, Jovanovi\u0107 argues that this is not the case in practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe CVR is not public. I would even go a step further and say that it is deliberately hidden,\u201d Jovanovi\u0107 points out. He adds that the intention of the legislator was to allow anyone to access the CVR extracts through a website, containing citizens\u2019 data that do not constitute a violation of the Law on Personal Data Protection.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe even have an opinion from the Agency stating that the CEC faces no obstacles in publishing the CVR in the manner prescribed by law,\u201d Jovanovi\u0107 added.<\/p>\n

Paradoxically, political subjects themselves have the right to obtain the voters register in an electronically processable format for the electoral units in which they are certified to participate in elections and have candidate lists.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Coalition \u2018Pod lupom\u2019, non-partisan observers and citizens do not have clear access to the CVR and the people listed in it, while political parties and politicians do \u2014 even though they are precisely the actors most frequently involved in abusing the voters register and are often the ones ordering or directly carrying out electoral fraud and vote theft,\u201d says Jovanovi\u0107.<\/p>\n

The Coalition \u201cPod lupom\u201d<\/strong> believes that publishing the CVR on the website of the CEC, in compliance with the Law on Personal Data Protection, would be a key step toward greater transparency and increased public trust in the electoral process.<\/p>\n

One of the Coalition\u2019s most important recommendations concerns the introduction of electronic voter identification<\/strong>. The use of fingerprint verification in combination with a valid identification document would prevent voting in someone else\u2019s name and identity abuse, which would make the issue of the total number of voters almost irrelevant from the perspective of electoral fraud.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou would no longer be able to artificially inflate turnout after 7:00 p.m. and use unused ballots, because you would not have people with fingerprints and valid documents,\u201d Jovanovi\u0107 explains.<\/p>\n

The Coalition additionally recommends periodic audits of the CVR<\/strong>, as well as regional cooperation and data exchange<\/strong>, in order to prevent the phenomenon of so-called \u201cvoting phalanxes\u201d<\/strong> \u2014 situations in which the same individuals exercise their voting rights in multiple countries in the region, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro.<\/p>\n

The new episode of the \u201cElection Compass\u201d<\/strong> podcast provides detailed explanations, concrete examples and clear recommendations for strengthening the integrity of the CVR and the overall electoral process in Bosnia and Herzegovina.<\/p>\n

Listen to the new episode of the Election Compass podcast<\/strong> on the Coalition \u201cPod lupom\u201d YouTube channel.<\/p>\n