Citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) will vote in the upcoming General Elections with the help of new technologies, which could significantly improve the transparency and efficiency of the election process. According to announcements from the Central Election Commission (CEC), results could be known as early as two hours after the polls close, and a significantly lower error rate is also expected. However, the question remains – will new technologies also bring greater credibility and integrity to the election process?
The decision to introduce modern technology – biometric voter identification and ballot scanning – came at the last minute. The High Representative in BiH passed a decision that secured funding for the equipment in the amount of 112 million BAM from the profits of the Central Bank of BiH (CBBiH).
“We are only now going to issue a tender. That’s why it’s important for us to have a representative from the Public Procurement Agency to help us ensure that the procurement for the international tender is done in accordance with the Election Law,” said CEC President Irena Hadziabdic, warning that public procurement processes are complex and can last three to four months, while the actual procurement of equipment can take up to six months.
Preparations are already underway, and the Ministry of Finance has a deadline of seven days to transfer the funds to the CEC’s account. Nevertheless, the civil sector warns that the authorities face a major challenge.
“In addition to standard equipment, it is necessary to educate the election administration and voters, especially since we now have significant changes at polling stations. All of that needs to be resolved much earlier, before election day itself,” emphasized Hasan Kamenjakovic from the “Pod lupom” Coalition.
Voting will still take place in the same manner – discreetly, behind a screen. However, instead of inserting the ballot into a box, it will be scanned. This enables automatic vote counting and reduces the room for manipulation.
“It will restore citizens’ trust in the election process and in the results. It will likely also lead to higher turnout, because voters will be more confident that no one will be able to cancel their vote,” said former CEC member Vehid Sehic, but also added that “we still haven’t created the conditions for the results to be free and fair.”
A similar opinion is shared by Damjan Ogresevic from Transparency International (TI) in BiH.
“New election technologies can certainly contribute to preserving the electoral will of citizens. However, the big question is whether all procedures, including the training of polling station committees, will be successfully implemented before the elections. There is very little time,” he stressed.
Among citizens, however, skepticism prevails. In a survey, most respondents expressed distrust in the elections, regardless of the new technology.
“This is all uncertain; that new technology won’t help. I have to admit that I sometimes don’t even go to vote, precisely because of fraud and theft,” said one citizen. Another added: “I haven’t voted in a long time, because people just don’t trust anymore.”
And while many politicians welcome the decision of the High Representative, it should not be forgotten that the domestic authorities themselves have been promising modernization of the election process for the past five years, without concrete results. Now, with help coming from abroad, it remains to be seen whether technology will truly restore citizens’ trust in fair and democratic elections.
