PRESS
RELEASE
The Elections
were Fair and Correct
The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Bosnia and
Herzegovina has assessed that the General Elections on 1 October
2006 were held in a fair and democratic atmosphere. Problems
that occurred during the elections have not affected the
elections procedure significantly or the election results, and
it can therefore be assumed that the final results will in fact
reflect the will of electors.
We assess as positive the transfer to passive registration of
voters, by which 2,775,207 citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina
were given active voting rights, which represents an increase of
440,000 citizens in comparison with the previous elections.
However, a number of voters failed to vote due to long lines at
some polling stations and due to changes of their polling
stations, which made them give up voting. Insufficient training
of polling station committee members was demonstrated, which
caused delays and complications in the electoral process. This
is one of the reasons for a relatively low turnout of voters,
although the key reason was the character of the election
campaign, in which the candidates and political parties failed
to draw attention of the electorate. Civic activism,
particularly around the GROZD movement, has been encouraging,
which has created assumptions for a more responsible attitude of
elected representatives towards voters and their concerns and
priorities.
Some weaknesses, reflecting the lack of discipline of parties’
activists and leaders, were manifested during the elections, as
well as their failure to respect some elementary postulates of
fair elections. This primarily refers to violations of the
election silence through display of posters, promotion of own
candidates, attempts to affect decisions of voters on the day
preceding the elections and on the very Election Day. According
to observations of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights
monitors, the SNSD [Alliance of Independent Social Democrats]
took the lead in such actions.
The presence of armed police officers was observed in the
proximity of polling stations, which is a reflection of the lack
of coordination between public order bodies and bodies in charge
of the electoral process.
Despite the importance of work of election observers from
non-governmental organizations, these were not allowed to carry
out their duties at a certain number of polling stations. During
the Election Day, this error was corrected.
The Helsinki Committee expects the legislative bodies to be
constituted by the legally defined deadlines, and the other
elected officials to take over their positions within deadlines
set. We stress as particularly important the constitution of the
executive bodies – for their immediate start of work on the
necessary reforms and acceleration of processes of association
of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the European Union.
Srdjan Dizdarevic
Chairman of Helsinki Commission in Bosnia and Herzegovina
No.: 02-10/2006
Sarajevo, 2 October 2006
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