October 13, 2022

Fears of corruption spark election recount in Bosnia

topic:	Election
located:	Bosnia and Herzegovina
editor:	Katarina Panić

In Bosnia’s capital, Sarajevo, the recount of the ballots for the general election begins today. The state’s Central Election Commission (CEC) ordered the recount due to numerous irregularities reported since October 2nd. 

The CEC explained that the recounting includes all ballots for Republika Srpska’s presidential election - more than 640,000 votes - as well as for the other positions in dozens of polling stations all over the country where the number of votes for one single candidate is more significant than the total for the political party the candidate represents.

The decision was made by six votes to one. The CEC member  against the recount, Vlado Rogić, claimed that the decision was not made in a timely manner, reminding the council that the electoral law states that the results must be completed and published before the recount: only after this can a request for the recounting may be submitted. Eleven days after the nationwide election, the CEC still has not  published the electoral results of the country with an electorate of 3.3 million, 50 percent of which turned out to vote.

In Republika Srpska’s presidential race, suspicions arose after the joint opposition candidate Jelena Trivić declared victory at around midnight. Soon, the CEC noticed that the votes from the local election commissions stopped arriving at the central base. The following day, the triumph of the long-ruling Alliance of Independent Social Democrats’s (SNSD’s) candidate Milorad Dodik was declared, sparking anger among the opposition, which organised two protest rallies attended by thousands of people in Banja Luka, demanding the recount of the ballots, sanctions for culprits and even a new election. 

The Coalition “Pod lupom,” which runs the civic, non-partisan observation of the election in Bosnia, campaigns for introducing electronic voter identification, ballot paper scanning and electronic tabulation of election results. Many believe this would ensure that voting integrity is secured. However, politicians have been refusing to reform the electoral legislature for decades. This election could be a milestone.  

Amid a chaotic post-election situation, the European Commission yesterday recommended the status of candidates for full membership in the European Union for Bosnia. The country has been striving to join the bloc since 2003.

Photo by Markus Winkler

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