In the Education Center of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CEC BiH), the handover of the application for the electronic registration of political entities via the “e-Elections” portal between the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the CEC took place today in Sarajevo.

As President of the CEC of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Suad Arnautović, said on the occasion, the introduction of a web application for electronic registration of political subjects through the “e-Elections” portal represents a significant step forward before the 2024 local elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“Recently, the CEC has been making significant efforts to digitize certain parts of the election process to facilitate and simplify the entire process, as well as to increase transparency and strengthen citizens’ trust in the CEC and the entire election process,” said Arnautović.

At the same time, he expressed his gratitude to the OSCE Mission to BiH for continuous assistance to the activities of the CEC BiH and the improvement of the electoral process.

The steps to improve the electoral process in Bosnia and Herzegovina were welcomed by the Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ambassador Brian Aggeler, underlining the importance of the engagement of the CEC in ensuring the democratic rights of the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina and strengthening the electoral system.

“With the support of the governments of the United States of America and Norway and the OSCE Mission, a project was implemented to improve the electoral process in BiH following the recommendations of the ODIHR.

The final activity within this project was the development of software for registering political parties via the Internet,”  said Aggeler, emphasizing that the presented application will significantly limit the risk of electoral fraud.

In this context, he called on all political actors to preserve the independence of the CEC and to protect it from political influence and interference.

“Calls for the CEC’s dismissal are unacceptable and contradict international standards of good practice in electoral matters. The authorities must ensure that the members of the election administration work without fear of retaliation or intimidation,” Ambassador Aggeler warned.

He added that it is necessary to secure the financial resources needed for the local elections in 2024, as well as for the smooth functioning of the CEC BiH, including the provision of funds for the development of the CEC’s IT structure, and for the employment of a sufficient number of qualified personnel.

The handover ceremony was also an opportunity to present the new application, which offers political entities a simple tool, saves time, removes doubts and errors and sets the conditions prescribed by law, thereby speeding up the entire process and reducing the possibility of misuse.

Among other things, a video about the application for registration of political entities was broadcast to the participants of the event.