The first contingent of specialized electoral technology required for the biometric identification of voters in Bosnia and Herzegovina is expected to arrive on Tuesday, marking another step in preparations for the General Elections. The complete delivery of equipment is expected by September 25, but concerns remain over whether voters will have enough time to adapt to the redesigned ballots before election day.
Although just over two months remain until the elections, the final appearance of the ballots has not yet been confirmed. Sample ballots presented to the public indicate significant changes that will require voter education, particularly because candidate names will no longer appear directly on the ballot.
Under the new system for the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, voters will first fill in the circle next to the political party of their choice and then select up to three candidates from that party by marking the corresponding numbers instead of names. Similar ballot designs are expected for entity and cantonal legislatures.
The Coalition “Under Scrutiny” warned that the redesign could create confusion among voters.
“The biggest change for citizens is the redesign of the ballot. Although we will have scanners and electronic identification, citizens will be instructed where to put their fingerprint and where to scan the ballot, but once they enter the voting booth, they are left alone with a ballot that no longer contains candidates’ names. That is a major change,” said Dario Jovanović of the coalition.
Jovanović argued that the redesign comes too late in the electoral process, noting that the final ballot design is expected to be confirmed only on August 15, leaving around six weeks for voter education.
The Central Election Commission (CEC) says voter education campaigns will be organized and that assistance will be available for those who need it. However, the Commission stressed that each assistant will be allowed to help only one voter, with assistants being identified in an effort to prevent so-called family voting.
CEC member Irena Hadžiabdić said the new procedures are intended to strengthen ballot secrecy while allowing ballots to be scanned more efficiently.
Transparency International Bosnia and Herzegovina has also called for an extensive public information campaign, recalling that more than 110,000 ballots were declared invalid in the last general elections.
“Voting will still be conducted in the traditional way, only in a slightly modified form. The ballots will be smaller so they can pass through scanners. The CEC should have started voter education earlier, but I believe there is still enough time,” said Damjan Žegović of Transparency International BiH.
The introduction of biometric voter identification and redesigned ballots is part of broader electoral reforms aimed at increasing transparency and reducing irregularities. However, questions remain over whether a little more than a month of public education will be sufficient, particularly given that an estimated 41 percent of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s population is digitally illiterate and many citizens over the age of 65 rarely use digital technologies.
The effectiveness of the new voting system and the education campaign will ultimately be tested when voters head to the polls on October 4.
