The Office of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina issued the Authentic Interpretation of the Decision of the High Representative dated July 17, 2025, which amended the Law on Financing Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
This document aims to clarify the practical application of the Decision and remove all possible doubts about its content and legal effect.
High Representative Christian Schmidt emphasizes that the Decision remains binding and that all its provisions must be implemented immediately, without additional technical, administrative or procedural obstacles, reports raport.ba.
In particular, it refers to the funds earmarked for the Central Election Commission of BiH (CEC) in the amount of 112.5 million BAM and which will be used for the procurement and implementation of new election technologies for the General Elections scheduled for October 2026.
The decision reads that there was correspondence between the Ministry of Finance and the Treasury of BiH headed by SNSD’s Srđan Amidžić and the CEC of BiH and that Schmidt decided to “cut through” all doubts with an authentic interpretation. Namely, given that the funds are secured in 2025, Schmidt explains why there should be no obstacles to spending them in this year.
“In addition, the letter dated February 4, 2026, signed by the Ministry of Finance and Treasury of Bosnia and Herzegovina and sent to the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina, is expressly based on Article 3 of the Decision of the High Representative, which confirms the legal basis, purpose and time frame of the distribution, i.e. the fact that the funds provided by the Decision are provided for the fiscal years 2025 and 2026, in order to ensure full financing of the procurement of electoral technologies intended for the purposes of holding the General Elections 2026,” the decision states.
Also, in the Authentic Interpretation section, it is repeated that if the Minister of Finance and Treasury does not ensure the availability of money for election technologies, the Deputy Minister of Finance and Treasury can do so, and in this case it is Muhamed Hasanović (SDPBiH).
“The decision further obligates and authorizes the Minister of Finance and Treasury of Bosnia and Herzegovina to transfer all unspent funds secured by this Decision to the fiscal year 2026 and ensure their availability for the intended purpose throughout 2026. Failure to transfer the funds by the minister without delay, i.e. within one (1) day from the date of publication of this Authentic Interpretation on the official website of the Office of the High Representative, directly implies the obligation and authorization of the deputy minister to make this transfer without delay.”
Multi-year framework
The authentic interpretation confirms that the multi-year funding framework for 2025 and 2026 is directly aligned with the CEC Feasibility Study, which plans in detail the phases and deadlines for the implementation of new election technologies. Schmidt emphasizes that it is the responsibility of the competent authorities to implement the Decision as written, thereby ensuring that funds are made available in a timely manner and that the electoral process remains transparent and impartial.
The Decision, Schmidt explained, clearly stipulates that any unreasonable withholding or improper allocation of funds constitutes a violation of the Decision, while proper implementation allows the CEC to prepare equipment and technology for a safe, fair and transparent 2026 General Election.
Schmidt’s message is clear, funds for electoral technology have been secured, the Decision must be implemented without delay, and the integrity of the 2026 elections must be protected.
