Suad Arnautovic, the President of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CEC BiH) announced on Thursday, April 21st that the CEC BiH will call general elections at the session on May 4th, even though there is no necessary money because the budget for 2022, which should provide funds, has not yet been adopted.
The possibility of financing the elections from the so-called budget reserves is uncertain, RSE writes.
Of the more than six million needed, about 313.000 euros are currently available, as confirmed to Radio Free Europe (RFE) by the BiH Ministry of Finance and Treasury.
Arnautovic mentioned that the elections would be held on Sunday, October 2nd, 2022 and that the BiH Council of Ministers by law must “provide funds for their implementation” within 15 days of the announcement, ie by May 19th.
Although requested by the CEC of BiH, there was no talk at the session of the Council of Ministers on April 20th about the request to approve funds from the budget reserves, and Arnautovic says that the unofficial explanation is that the submitted material of the CEC of BiH was incomplete.
BiH Security Minister Selmo Cikotic, one of the members of the BiH Council of Ministers, told Radio Free Europe (RSE) that he proposed a point on election money before Friday’s session, but it was not accepted.
“Minister (Vjekoslav) Bevanda stated that the documentation (sent by the CEC BiH) has not been completed and the chairman (Zoran Tegeltija) has not put that item on the agenda,” stressedCikotic, who “thinks the issue will be resolved at one of thefuture sessions.”
Due to the lack of a budget for 2022, BiH institutions are financed on the basis of temporary financing decisions. No additional funds can be found in these decisions for, for example, investments, salary increases, or money for holding elections.
The Council of Ministers of BiH also has at its disposal the so-called budget reserves, which consist of funds transferred from recent years, from which the CEC of BiH requested money for the elections.
Namely, the CEC of BiH emphasized that a larger amount of 11.72 million BAM (more than six million euros) will be needed, which was the cost of holding the previous general elections in 2018.
There is no multimillion amount needed for the elections that comes explicitly from the planned budget reserves.
The drafting of the budget for 2022, which should include funds for the elections, is still ongoing. Throughout the past year, as well as the first six months of the current year, BiH institutions are financed on the basis of decisions on temporary financing.
E.Dz.
