The “Under Scrutiny” coalition, which is conducting a civil, non-partisan observation mission of the 2026 General Elections, has so far recorded a total of 528 election irregularities in the pre-election period.
The largest number of election irregularities relates to: premature campaigning (206 cases), misuse of public resources (206 cases), irregularities in the formation of election committees (18 cases), prohibited campaign activities (17 cases), illegal paid advertising (14 cases), abuse of children for political purposes (12 cases), pressure on voters (3 cases) and other election irregularities (30 cases).
So far, the Coalition “Under Scrutiny” has sent 101 initiatives to the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Based on the initiatives of the “Under Scrutiny” Coalition, the CEC of BiH has so far imposed 17 sanctions on political parties and candidates in the total amount of 87,500 KM. – said Hasan Kamenjaković, PR manager of the “Under Scrutiny” Coalition.
The Coalition “Under Scrutiny” specifically referred to the abuse of public funds and resources, stating that the analysis of cases reported so far indicates the existence of legal gaps and uneven sanctioning practices between election cycles, which enable certain irregularities, even though they have the characteristics of abuse of public resources, to remain unsanctioned.
So far, four initiatives have been rejected, and four initiatives are currently in the process, while the legal team of the “Under Scrutiny” Coalition is also processing additional cases.
It is particularly problematic that in part of the rejected cases, the fact that the political actors were not certified to participate in the elections at the time of the disputed action appears as an obstacle. This is especially visible in public events, more precisely the opening of playgrounds, infrastructure projects, solemn ceremonies and donations to schools, in which politicians or their supporters participated, even though the events were financed or organized by public institutions or public companies, which is prohibited by law. In this way, sanctions are absent due to the formal status of the actors.
The unevenness compared to the previous practice is additionally worrying. In the previous election cycle, there were cases in which the presentation of the results of the government’s work as the success of a political party was sanctioned. In the current cycle, similar actions did not result in a sanction. It is especially problematic when a party presents the government’s activities as party successes on its social networks. The use of public projects and government results as political capital during the campaign represents an indirect purchase of voter support, however, there are no sanctions in this election cycle. – said Dario Jovanović, project manager of the “Under Scrutiny” Coalition.
An additional limitation is the fact that for certain forms of abuse, only persons who have the status of holding an executive function or mandate can be sanctioned. In this way, there is a gap between the legal definition and the actual actors of political promotion, and no sanction was imposed even for this reported case.
The current four ongoing procedures include, among other things, the provision of one-time financial assistance to citizens, the presentation of infrastructure projects as party successes, and the use of the premises of government bodies for party activities.
Given that the election campaign officially begins today, the Coalition “Under Scrutiny” called on all political entities to respect the law and conduct a peaceful and dignified campaign.
The “Under Scrutiny” coalition invited all citizens to report any observed election irregularity via the free phone number 080 05 05 05 or via the online form https://neregularnosti.podlupom.org/, including anonymous reports.
Also, the “Under Scrutiny” Coalition invited all interested parties to register as non-partisan election day observers at the historic elections with long-awaited new technologies.
Applications for observers take place via the form https://ukljucise.podlupom.org/ or via the specified free phone number, the Coalition “Under Scrutiny” announced.
