The Under Scrutiny coalition has so far recorded 277 election irregularities in the pre-election period. The largest number of election irregularities refers to misuse of public resources (155 cases), premature election campaign (86 cases), irregularities in the formation of election committees (17 cases), abuse of children for political purposes (nine cases), illegal paid advertising (five cases), violation of media rules (three cases) and two cases of other election irregularities.
So far, the Under Scrutiny Coalition has sent 56 initiatives to the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Based on the applications of the Under Scrutiny Coalition, the CEC of Bosnia and Herzegovina has so far imposed ten sanctions in the amount of 45,500 KM.
The Under Scrutiny Coalition specifically referred to the abuse of children for political purposes, stating that the fact that the number of sanctions for this type of election irregularity is still extremely small and that it is accompanied by the illogicalities that appear in the practice of sanctions during the current election cycle is worrying.
The most common form of child abuse recorded so far refers to situations in which political subjects or supporters organize visits to families, often with the distribution of gifts, after which minor children are photographed or filmed, and this material is published on social networks and/or other platforms.
“In this way, the presence of children becomes an integral part of political promotion, with the clear intention of producing an emotional reaction among the public towards a political subject or supporter,” they state from the Under Scrutiny Coalition.
In previous election cycles, such cases were sanctioned with the explanation that children were used to create a positive image of a political subject and indirectly influence the emotions of voters. However, in the current election cycle, almost identical situations are no longer treated as child abuse. Instead, such activities are interpreted as highlighting the importance of family.
Particularly devastating are the explanations of certain political entities, according to which there is no violation of the law because the presence of a child does not represent a direct call to support a political party or because a child of three or four years old, by itself, cannot advocate voting for a certain political option.
So far, only two cases have been sanctioned, out of nine reported, in which children were shown on the playground and at school, where it was determined that they were used as a sensitive category of society for the purpose of political promotion.
“The uneven practice of sanctioning creates a serious legal vacuum and leaves room for political entities to abuse children under various pretexts. If the same action in one case represents an illegal political promotion, and in another case the promotion of family values, one has the right to demand a clear, consistent and well-argued action,” the Under Scrutiny Coalition announced.
