The basic characteristic of the local elections held in
The low voter turnout
This was the lowest voter turnout since the signing of the Dayton Agreement; this has confirmed the previous estimates predicting insufficient voter motivation, particularly in urban environments and among the youth.
The observers estimate that only 7 to 10% of the population group of up to 30 years of age has used the voting rights. Equally disturbing was the low turnout of voters from abroad. There were just 27,500 of them registered, as compared with 270,000 registered voters from abroad in 2002, and only 15,000 of them have voted this time.
The mobile observer teams of the BH HCHR
On 2 October 2004, the day of local elections, the mobile observer teams of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina visited more than 300 polling stations throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The observers registered that there was a significant number of citizens who could not find their names on voter lists and who were thus deprived of their right to vote.
These elections have also shown that it would be necessary finally to conduct the census, which would contribute to bringing the lists of voters in order and enable all those who wish so to use their voting right.
The polling stations were mainly well organized, and the process went on without major problems.
We did note the presence of party observers at all polling stations, yet however there were almost no observers on the part of the NGO sector, while the international observers were only symbolically present.
Fair and democratic
The shortcomings and sporadic incidents observed did not have a substantial impact on the results of the elections, so that it might be concluded that the local elections in 2004 were fair and democratic.
