In accordance with the Decision of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) enacting the Law on Amendments to the Law on Financing the Institutions of BiH, of July 17th of this year, as of two days ago operational funds of 112.500.000 BAM have been made available for the needs of implementing the multi-year project of introducing specific technologies into the electoral process in BiH.
The Central Election Commission (CEC) of BiH reminds that the CEC, at the session held on February 28th of this year, adopted the Final Report of the implemented pilot projects on the introduction of new technologies into the electoral process in BiH and the Feasibility Study for the introduction of specific electoral technologies into the electoral process of BiH. The House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH (PABiH), at its 27th session held on April 15th, 2025, adopted the mentioned documents.
The application of biometric voter verification technology and ballot scanning across BiH is a complex multi-phase process, and according to the adopted Feasibility Study, the deadline for securing financial resources was April 2025, in order to ensure unhindered implementation.
The process of introducing specific technologies into the electoral process in BiH involves a multi-year project of capital investment and digitalization of the electoral process in the period 2025-2028, in line with the dynamics established by the Framework Operational Plan adopted by the CEC of BiH.
For the needs of implementing the mentioned project in 2025, public procurement is planned for devices for biometric voter identification and optical scanners for automatic ballot counting, as well as public procurement of software licenses for biometric voter identification devices and software licenses for optical scanners for automatic ballot counting. Also planned is the development of a system for identity and election management.
In 2026, it is planned to secure warehouses and spaces for device configuration, public procurement of paper and printing of ballots, hiring of staff who will work on project implementation and election conduct, staff education and training, voter education, establishment of a data center hosting (monitoring of field activities, call center and provision of server space for storing and making websites or applications available on the internet), as well as other tasks needed for project implementation determined by special decisions of the CEC of BiH.
For some public procurements, the legal obligation is to issue an international tender, whose realization requires up to three months in ideal conditions; however, the possible filing of complaints can significantly affect the length of the procedure. Therefore, a very challenging period lies ahead for the CEC of BiH.
Although the funds for implementing the project of introducing specific electoral technologies into the electoral process have been secured with a delay of several months compared to the deadlines planned in the Feasibility Study, the CEC of BiH will use its knowledge, experience, and all capacities to successfully implement the project.
