The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), at the press conference, has announced direct elections in BiH, which will take place on 1 October 2006 in accord with the existing Constitution of BiH and the Election Law. These elections will be held in line with the BiH Election Law, which has recently undergone significant changes. (12-MAY-06)
Written by HRH / Mirsad Pandzic.
Elections have been announced for the BiH Presidency, the House of Representatives of BiH Parliamentary Assembly, House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Federation of BiH (FBiH), the president and vice president of Republika Srpska (RS), the RS People’s Assembly, and cantonal assemblies in FBiH, as stated by the Commission chairman Branko Petric (right).
Election Law
These elections will be held in line with the BH Election Law, which has recently undergone significant changes. Consequently, there will, for the first time, be no active registration of voters. Instead, all citizens of BH of over 18 years of age, who possess the new CIPS identification cards, will have the right to vote. Those who fail to present this identification document will not be allowed to vote. According to our information, there are communities in which a considerable number of citizens have not yet replaced the old documents with new ones, which could pose a problem, Petric has warned.
Voters
Rights of refugees and displaced persons in the election process will not be jeopardized and they will, regardless of the introduction of passive registration of voters, be able to vote in the municipalities in which they resided in 1991. The citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina who live abroad and do not vote at regular polling stations in the country have also preserved their right to vote. On 3 May, the central election roll contained, after the so-called passive registration of voters, the total of 2,644,545 voters, which is 280,000 more than it had previously had. The number of registered voters in FBH is 1,649,546, in RS it is 921,223, and 73,776 in District Brcko.
Election campaign
In accord with changes of the BH Election Law, the election campaign period has been reduced from 60 to 30 days, and there have also been significant changes in the field of financing of election campaign, which stipulate that parties be allowed to spend three times less money than it has been the case so far. Instead of one mark, the parties will be allowed to spend 30 pfenings per registered voter in a constituency. An exception is the elections for cantonal assemblies, where spending 20 pfenings per voter is allowed.
Election rights
The former provision that one person can at the same time perform two public indirectly or directly elected duties has also been changed. In the future, one person will be allowed to perform one directly or indirectly elected duty at the most. The protection of election rights will be ensured by competent election commissions and the Appeals Chamber of the Court of BH, not the Election Council for Complaints and Appeals any longer.
