EUROPEAN COMMISSION FOR DEMOCRACY
THROUGH LAW
(VENICE COMMISSION)
ARTICLES
OF THE ELECTION LAW
OF
BOSNIA
and herzegovina
AS
proposed for aMENDment
on
21
DECEMBER 2007
Election Law Amendments
Article 1.1a
„Certain expressions used in this
Law shall have the following meaning:
(1)
“Political entity” shall mean a political party, an
independent candidate, a coalition, or a list of independent candidates certified
for participation in elections in accordance with this Law.
(2)
“Electoral unit” shall mean:
a)
A “basic electoral unit” which means a
municipality, the City of Banja Luka, the District of Brcko, the city electoral
unit of the City of Mostar and electoral units of the city area of the City of
Mostar where a total number of representatives is elected and constituted for a
certain level of authority and which does not contain the multimember electoral
units.
b)
A cantonal electoral unit where a total number of
representatives is elected and constituted for a certain level of authority and
which does not contain multimember electoral units.
c)
An entity electoral unit where the Entity level of
authority is elected and constituted, containing a multimember electoral unit.
d)
An entity electoral unit where the State level of
authority is elected.
(3)
“Multi-member electoral unit” shall mean an
electoral unit where more than one but less than the total number of representatives
for a certain level of authority is elected.
(4)
“Electoral race” shall mean the mandate period
relating to a certain level of authority.
(5)
“Election threshold” shall mean a certain
percentage of votes received (valid ballots) that must be won by a political
entity in order for it to be eligible to participate in the allocation of mandates.
(6)
“Election campaign” shall mean the period
established by this Law within which a political entity informs the voters and
the public, as prescribed by the Law, about their programs and candidates for
the forthcoming elections.
(7) “Compensatory mandates” shall mean the
mandates that are allocated to the lists of political parties or coalitions
according to the number of valid votes received, and serve to compensate for
inadequate proportional representation at the entity level arrived at by summing
up the results for the particular multimember electoral units in the entity.
(8) “National
Minority Member” shall mean a portion of population – BiH citizens who do not
belong to one of the three constituent peoples. National minority is consisted
of people of the same or similar ethnic background, same or similar tradition,
customs, faith, language, culture and spirituality and close or related history
and other features
9) “Displaced person” shall mean a national of Bosnia and Herzegovina whose status of a displaced person
has been established by a competent administration authority responsible for
the displaced persons affairs as provided by law.
10) “Refugee” shall
mean a national of Bosnia and Herzegovina who has the voting rights and has
taken up his/her residence abroad, enjoying the status as refugee from Bosnia
and Herzegovina.
11) “Parliamentary
party” shall mean a political party represented in representative or
legislative government authorities.
Article 1.2a
The Budget of the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina and
International Obligations of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the BiH
budget) shall provide for the cost and expense for the conduct of elections by
the Central Election Commission of BiH referred to in Article 2.19 and Article 2.19, Paragraph 12 of this Law.
The budgets of entities and cantons shall provide for the
cost and expense for the conduct of elections of the election bodies referred
to in Article 2.21 of this Law, pursuant to the Decision of the Central
Election Commission of BiH that regulates their scope of competence as well as
the provision of missing funds for obligations referred to in Paragraph 3 of
this Article.
The budgets of municipalities
and cities shall provide for the cost and expense for the conduct of elections
by municipal election commissions referred to in Article 2.13 as well as
reimbursement costs referred to in Article 2.12, Paragraph 7 and Article 2.19, Paragraph 11 of this Law.”
The costs and expense for the
conduct of the elections shall be administered by the Election Commission
referred to in Paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4 of this Article, which is authorized to
determine the method of their use and supervise their allocation and use.
Funds for the conduct of elections,
institutions outlined under paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4 of this Article must be
provided within 15 days from the day of issuance of the decision on
announcement of elections by the Central Election Commission of BiH
Article 1.3
The election of members of all bodies of authority shall be
made on the basis of free elections of general and
equal voting rights by directly by the voters secret ballots,
unless otherwise stipulated by this law.
Mandate of the members of
a representative body elected in the regular elections shall be 4 years and
shall commence on the day when the election results have been published in the Official
Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
(3) The elected holder of the mandate that has been
elected in the direct and indirect elections shall have the obligation to sign
a declaration by which he/she shall refuse or accept the mandate in the form as
prescribed by the Central Election Commission of BiH
Article 1.5
All
citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina who have
the right to vote, pursuant to this law, shall have the right to vote in person
in the municipality of their permanent residence.
In addition to the rights referred
to in paragraph (1) of this Article, a citizen of Bosnia
and Herzegovina who is temporarily residing abroad and has the right to vote,
shall have the right to register and to vote by mail or in person in the diplomatic and
consular representation offices of Bosnia and Herzegovina, for the municipality
where the person had a permanent place of residence prior to his or her
departure abroad, provided that he or she is registered as a permanent resident
in that municipality at the moment of submitting his or her application for
out-of-country vote.
The Central Election Commission of
Bosnia and Herzegovina shall issue a separate
regulation in order to regulate the procedure of voting in the diplomatic and
consular representation offices of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Membership of the
Polling Station Committees for voting in the diplomatic and consular
representation offices of Bosnia and Herzegovina must be multiethnic.
A
citizen of Bosnia and
Herzegovina who has dual citizenship pursuant to Article
I(7)(d) of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, shall
have the right to vote, only if Bosnia
and Herzegovina is the country of
his or her permanent residence.
Article 1.8
Judges of regular and Constitutional courts,
prosecutors and their deputies, attorneys and their deputies holding public
office, Ombudsmen and their deputies, members of the Human Rights
Courts/Chambers/Councils, notaries,
members of police forces, civil servants, members of the Armed Forces of BiH,
members of the Intelligence and Security Agency, and diplomatic and consular
representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina abroad who have a diplomatic status
in accordance with the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, may
stand as a candidate for public elected office only if they resign from their
position or abide by the laws regulating their status.
If a delegate in the House of Peoples of the
Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina holds, at the same time, a
mandate of a member of the House of Representatives of Parliamentary Assembly
of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and
Herzegovina, National Assembly of Republika Srpska or cantonal assembly he/she
shall be bound to inform in writing, within 3 days, the Central Election
Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina which of the mandates he/she
selected thus terminating other mandates that he/she holds.
If a delegate in the House of Peoples of the
Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina acquires the right to a mandate
in the House of Representatives of Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and
Herzegovina, House of Representatives of the
Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, National
Assembly of Republika Srpska or cantonal assembly pursuant to Article 9.11 of
this Law and if he/she does not inform, within 3 days, the Central Election
Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina on waiving of that right, the mandate
shall not be allocated to him/her and it shall be distributed to the next
qualified candidate on the list of the constituency according to paragraph 2 of Article 9.9 of
this Law. If after a question of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina the delegate decides to use that right his/her
mandate of a delegate in the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly
shall cease.
One person can hold maximum one (1) directly
elected public office, or maximum one (1) directly elected office and one (1)
indirectly elected office, unless otherwise specified by the Law. It is also incompatible to hold at
the same time one directly or indirectly elected office and one position in an
executive body of authority. It is also incompatible to hold more than one
position in an executive body of authority.
A
person may not hold public elected office in Bosnia and
Herzegovina and at the same time hold any
public elected or politically appointed office in another country. A person holding any elective or politically
appointed office in another country shall be obliged to relinquish, within
forty-eight (48) hours after the verification of his or her mandate in Bosnia and Herzegovina, one of the two
(2) offices he or she holds. A person
who holds any public elected office in Bosnia and Herzegovina and is elected to
or appointed to a politically appointed office in another country, shall be
obliged to relinquish his or her mandate in Bosnia and Herzegovina, within
forty-eight (48) hours after the election or appointment in another country.
For
the purpose of this article, an executive office notably includes the
Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and
Herzegovina, the President and Vice Presidents of the Federation of
Bosnia and Herzegovina, the President and Vice Presidents of the Republika
Srpska,
the government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina including the Prime
Minister, the government of the Republika Srpska including the Prime Minister,
the government of the District of Brcko, the Cantonal government, the Mayor of
a city, the Deputy Mayor of a city, the city government, the Mayor of a municipality,
the Deputy Mayor of a municipality, the Mayor’s cabinet, and other executive
functions as
defined by law.
Article 1.10
The term of office of an elected member of
a body of authority at all levels shall terminate before the expiration of the
mandate for which he or she was elected if:
1.
on the day when he/she resigns;
2.
if he/she has been recalled in
accordance with law;
3.
on the day when he/she dies;
4.
on the day when a court judgment becomes final and binding by which he/she has been
sentenced to a sentence of six (6) months or longer;
5.
on the day when a court decision
becomes final and binding by which he or she has been deprived of the ability
to engage in business activities (declared mentally incompetent);
6.
on the day he/she is elected or appointed to an office which
is incompatible with the office of an elected member of a certain body as
stipulated by law;
7.
if he/she has cancelled
his/her permanent residence in the territory of the electoral unit in which he/she
was recorded as a voter in the Central Voters Register and from which he/she
was elected, after the end of a six-month-period following the date of
cancellation; or
8.
for a reason stipulated by law that he or she loses the right
to be elected.
The mandate of an elected member of a body of authority at
any level shall terminate on the day when one of the reasons for termination
established by law occurs. The Central Election Commission of
Bosnia and Herzegovina shall, within maximum fifteen (15) days after the reason
for termination has occurred or become known, take the decision to terminate
the mandate of an elected member of a government authority and shall notify
thereof the government authority in which the elected member had the mandate.
If the member resigns, the resignation shall be completed on
a form produced by the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Article 2.2
Member
of election commission and Polling Station Committee shall be person eligible
to vote.
Member of election
commission and Polling Station Committee shall be person with appropriate
expertise and experience in the administration of elections.
The
Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall determine
what the required qualifications are for member of election commissions and
Polling Station Committee established in the paragraph 2 of this Article.
Member of the competent authority responsible for the conduct of
elections shall have to undergo the continued training during their mandate, in
accordance to the educational curricula (plan and programme) issued by the
Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
If a member of the competent
authority responsible for the conduct of elections fails to undergo the
continued training during the mandate as required under the educational
curriculum issued by the Central Election Commission, he/she shall be released
from his/her duty.
Article 2.3
No person can be appointed as a member of an election
commission or Polling Station Committee who:
The
Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall decide if
the severity of the violation and the personal responsibility of the individual
as stated in paragraph 5 of this article prohibits the person from being a
member of an election commission or a Polling Station Committee.
Article
2.4
The
election commission member shall be appointed for a period of seven (7) years
and member may only be appointed to the same election commission for two (2)
consecutive terms of office.
Polling Station Committee member shall be
appointed for each election.
Article 2.5
The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall consist of
seven (7) members: two (2) Croats, two (2) Bosniacs, two (2) Serbs, and one (1)
other member.
The
nominees for the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall be jointly
nominated by the members of the Commission for Selection and Nomination. The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina nominees shall be
legal experts with experience in the administration of elections and/or
electoral experts and may not hold any office in the bodies of
a political party, association or foundations organizationally or financially
related to the political party, and may not be involved in any political party
activity.
Commission
for Selection and Nomination shall have seven members out of whom two shall be
appointed by the President of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council from
amongst members of the Council, three members shall be appointed by the
Administrative Commission of Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina
from amongst members of the Commission from the House of Representatives of the
Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina and two shall be appointed by the President of the
Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina from amongst members of the Central Election Commission
of Bosnian Herzegovina.
The
constituent peoples, two Bosniaks, two Serbs, two Croats and one from amongst
the Others must be represented in the Commission for Selection and Nomination.
The
Commissions for Selection and Nomination shall meet for the purpose of decision
making on issues of appointments regulated by this Law. The
procedure of announcement and determination of proposed candidates shall follow the Rules of Procedures adopted
by yhe Commission for Selection
and Nomination. A decision on the list of nominees for the election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall be made by
two third (2/3) majority vote.
In accordance with its procedures, the
House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall elect
members of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina from the list of
nominees. If this list is not submitted to the House of Representatives thirty
(30) days prior to the expiration of the mandates of the members of the
Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina, then the House of
Representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall nominate and
elect the members of the
Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Commission for Selection and
Nomination shall have the obligation to provide the House of Representatives of
the Parliamentary Assembly of BIH with the candidate list not later than thirty
(30) days prior to the expiration of the mandates of the members of the Central
Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In
the event a member of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and
Herzegovina cannot perform his/her duties as
established in Article 2.15 of this law the Central Election Commission
of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall notify the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The House of
Representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall in this case
appoint a new member who is of the same Constituent Peoples including others as
the previous member. A new member shall be appointed from the list of nominees
submitted by the Commission
for Selection and Nomination.
The
cost and expense for the public announcement of an open competition shall be provided
from the Budget of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Article
2.9
The Central
Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina is an independent
body, which derives its authority from and reports directly to, the
Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Central
Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall:
1.
co-ordinate, oversee and regulate the lawful operation of all
election commissions and Polling Station Committees in accordance with this
law;
2.
issue administrative Regulations for the implementation of
this law;
2.a issue a
decision to hold the direct elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as provided by this Law;
3.
propose a budget for the Central Election Commission of
Bosnia and Herzegovina and report on its
spending;
4.
be responsible for accuracy, update and overall
integrity of the Central Voters Register for the territory of Bosnia and
Herzegovina;
4.a ensure the
statistical records classified by gender, age, classified by
polling stations for
each part of the election process;
5.
certify the participation of political parties, coalitions,
lists of independent candidates and independent candidates for all levels of direct elections in Bosnia and
Herzegovina;
6.
verify and certify the lists of candidates for all levels of direct and indirect elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina covered by this law;
7.
be responsible for the timely printing, distribution and
security of ballots and forms for all levels of direct elections in Bosnia and
Herzegovina;
8.
define the contents and the form of the ballot for all levels
of direct elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina;
9. verify and certify election results for all direct and indirect elections covered by this
Law, certify that elections were conducted in accordance with this Law and
publish results of all direct and indirect elections covered by this Law;
10.
issue certificates to persons who receive mandates at all
levels of direct and indirect elections in BIH covered by this Law;
11.
notify an election commission or Polling Station Committee or any other competent authority responsible for the conduct of
elections that it does not comply with or violates a provision of this law and
order the remedial action required to be taken by the competent body;
12.
publicize all Rules of Procedure, Regulations and election
results of the direct and indirect elections in BIH
covered by this Law, voter information and all other information necessary for
the implementation of this law and all electoral laws, in the Official Gazettes
and the media, both inside and outside Bosnia and Herzegovina as appropriate;
13.
conduct all election activities for the elections for the
members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the members of
the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
14.
take the decision to terminate the
mandate of an elected official at all levels of direct and indirect elections
in Bosnia and Herzegovina covered by this Law, but also where necessary conduct the preliminary fact-finding
procedure (in the case where a member resigns that it is of his or her own volition);
15.
review the decision taken by the competent authority to terminate the
mandate of an elected official by recall, in order to ensure that the elected
official’s mandate was terminated in accordance with this Law;
16.
report annually to the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and
Herzegovina on the electoral administration in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the
implementation of this law and initiates amendments to this law; and
17.
perform all other duties as authorised by law.
Article
2.12
A Municipal Election Commission shall consist of three (3), five (5) or
seven (7) members. A municipal election commission may
appoint the municipal election commission Secretary, who shall perform
administrative and technical duties.
The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall determine the number of the Municipal Election Commission members
in accordance with the number of the registered voters and the size of a
municipality.
Other criteria may be used by the Central Election Commission of Bosnia
& Hercegovina to determine the number of Municipal Election Commission
members.
The member of the Municipal Election Commission can be: the president or a judge of a regular Court, the Secretary of the Municipal Council/Municipal
Assembly and
City Council, persons professionally employed in Municipal administration and other persons
if they meet the conditions established in the Article 2.2 of this Law, and
they do not have the obstacles from the Article 2.3 of this Law.
The members of the Municipal Election Commission shall be appointed by the
Municipal Council/Municipal Assembly, subject to the approval of the Central
Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina based on a public
advertisement according to the procedure established by the Central Election
Commission of BiH under a separate regulation.
Members of the Municipal Election Commissions shall be
dismissed by the Municipal Council, or the Municipal Assembly, with the consent
of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
A member of the Municipal Election Commission may no be a
representative or attorney of the political subject participating in the
elections and if under a final and binding court
decision he/she has been sentenced to a non-suspended sentence of six (6)
months or longer.
Amongst the members of the Municipal Election Commission from the previous
paragraph the Municipal Council/Assembly shall appoint the President, subject
to the approval of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Members of municipal election commissions shall be
entitled to a permanent monthly remuneration. The decision on the amount shall
be reached by the municipal council/assembly on yearly basis given that this
amount may not be lower than the amount provided for the members of the
municipal council/assembly.
Article 2.13
The Municipal
Election Commission shall:
1.
monitor and supervise
(control) the work of the Voters Register Center referred to in Article 3.8 of the Law;
2.
designate Polling Stations in the territory of the
municipality for voting on all levels of authority in Bosnia and
Herzegovina;
3.
conduct the appointment
procedure, appoint and train the members of the Polling Station Committee;
4.
ensure the security of, and deliver to the Polling Station
Committees the polling material for voting at all levels of the elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina;
5.
as directed by the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina notify voters of information
necessary for the administration of elections;
6.
be responsible for the technical arrangements at the Polling
Station and any other technical preparations for the elections;
7.
be responsible for the proper conduct of the counting of
ballots at Polling Stations and municipal counting centres;
8.
compile the results of elections from all Polling Stations in
the municipality, separately for each body for which elections were
administered and forward the results to the Central Election Commission of
Bosnia and Herzegovina; and
9.
perform all other tasks as authorised by law and by the
Regulations of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Article 2.14
The
composition of an election commission should be multiethnic, reflecting the
population of the constituent peoples including others bearing in mind the most
recent national Census at the electoral unit for which it is formed.
If
the election commission is not composed in accordance with the previous
paragraph, the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall annul the
appointment of the members and inform the appointing body. The appointing body shall within fiftheen
(15) days of the decision of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and
Herzegovina reappoint the body in compliance with the criteria established in paragraph 1 of this Article..
If the election commission or Polling Station Committee is
not properly constituted again, the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall appoint the
members of the election commission or Polling Station Committee in accordance
with paragraph 1 of this article.
Article 2.19
The Polling Station Committee shall consist of
three (3) or five (5) members of whom one shall be appointed as President.
The President and members of the Polling Station
Committee shall have deputies.
The appointment of the President and members of the
Polling Station Committee and their deputies shall be made by the Municipal
Election Commission based on a public invitation no later
than forty-five (45) days prior
to the date of the election.
If the Municipal Election Commission does not
appoint the members of the Polling Station Committee and their deputies in
accordance with Paragraph 3 of this Article, then the Central Election
Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall
appoint the members of
the Polling Station Committee and their deputies.
Further regulations required for
implementation of this Article shall be issued by the Central Election
Commission of BiH.
Members of a Polling Station Committee are entitled
to a salary. The
decision on the amount of the salary shall be made by the Municipal Election
Commission.
The decision on the amount of payment for the members of the Polling
Station Committees for the conduct of the General Elections shall be made by
Central Election Commission of BiH.
Article 3.1
The Central Voters Register constitutes the records
of citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina who have the right to vote in accordance
with this Law and shall be established, maintained and used for the following
purposes: to organize and conduct elections in accordance with law, to conduct
referendums, to conduct recalls of elected officials and to elect bodies of the
Local Self-governance in accordance with law.
The Central Voters Register and excerpts from the
Central Voters Register are public documents.
The right of access to the Central Voter Register
shall be exercised in accordance with this Law.
Political entities certified for participation in
elections and whose candidate lists are
certified for participation in elections, in accordance with this
Law, shall be provided upon their request with an electronic or printed excerpt
from the Central Voter Register for the level of government or for the
electoral unit in which they participate in elections.
Article 3.5
(NOTE: Complete article is to be amended)
The Central Voters Register shall be maintained
ex-officio.
The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall
maintain the Central Voters Register for the territory of Bosnia
and Herzegovina on the basis of records of
a competent State authority that maintains the records of citizens of Bosnia
and Herzegovina in
accordance with the Law on Central Registers and Data Exchange, unless
otherwise prescribed by this Law.
The competent State authority referred to in
Paragraph 2 of this Article shall maintain and shall be responsible for the
overall technical processing of all data of relevance for the records of the Central
Voters Register (hereinafter: the authority in charge of technical maintenance
of the Central Voters Register records).
The competent authority for keeping the records on
citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina pursuant
to Law on Citizens’ Single Identification Number, Law on Permanent and
Temporary Residence of the Citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the
Law on Identification Card of BiH Citizens, shall receive the data from:
a)
Competent Registry Office on death of all citizens
over eighteen (18) years of age; and
b)
Competent Ministry of Bosnia
and Herzegovina: on
deregistration of BiH citizenship
The
competent authority in charge of technical maintenance of the Central Voter
Register shall receive the data pursuant to the Law on Central Registers and
Data Exchange as well as the provisions of the Law on Personal Identification
Number (JMB Number), the Law on Permanent and Temporary Residence of BiH
Citizens, and the Law on ID Cards from a competent authority in charge of
maintaining the records on any change of permanent and temporary residence.
The authority competent for technical maintenance of
the Central Voter Register records shall receive data from the following
parties:
a.
Municipal Election Commissions on Polling Stations;
and
b.
Central Election Commission of BIH and Municipal
Election Commissions on changes of voting options.
The competent authority in charge of maintaining the
official records concerning such data shall be responsible for accuracy and
update of data necessary to produce the Central Voters Register.
The competent Registry Offices shall provide to the
authority competent for maintaining the official records concerning the
Citizens’ Single Identification Number, Permanent and Temporary Residence of
the Citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the data on all changes that affect
the accuracy of the Central Voters Register, in writing, not later than within
seven (7) days from the date the change has occurred.
The authority competent for maintaining the official
records concerning the Citizens’ Single Identification Number, Permanent and
Temporary Residence of the Citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina is responsible
for keeping the data updated and accurate and is obliged to keep the files with
documents, public identification documents and requests of citizens, on the
basis of which the Central Voters Register is maintained and updated, and make
the access to these files possible and the files available at the request of
the Central Election Commission.
Article
3.10
Records of the Central Voters Register shall
contain the following information on citizens of Bosnia
and Herzegovina who have
the right to vote:
a)
Last and first name and name of one of parents,
b)
Date of birth,
c)
National Identification number,
d)
Gender,
e)
Name of the Municipality where this person has a
permanent or temporary residence,
f)
Address of the permanent/temporary residence
(street, street number and town),
g)
Name of the Municipality and/or electoral unit for
which this person is eligible to vote,
h)
Voting option
i)
Polling Station
j)
date of registration of the
permanent or temporary residence; and
k)
Field with the heading: “Notes”.
Excerpts from the Central Voters Register shall be
made on the basis of the electronic records of the Central Voters Register.
The format and contents of an
excerpt from the Central Voters Register, used for the conduct of the elections,
shall be determined by the Central Election Commission of BIH.
Article 3.12a
A voter who has changed his/her permanent residence 45 days
before the election day, shall be found in the excerpt from the Central Voters
Register at a regular Poling Station in the municipality in which he/she had
his/her permanent residence until the day when the permanent residence was
changed.
The
authority in charge of maintaining the records on any change of permanent or
temporary residence shall check the accuracy of the data on such changes of
permanent or temporary residence. An official report shall be compiled about
this check.
Article
3.13
Entry of a voter in the Central Voters Register
shall be made by the competent authorities in accordance with the provisions of
Article 3.5 of this Law.
Any citizen of Bosnia
and Herzegovina shall
have access to an excerpt from the Central Voters Register and shall be
entitled to request its correction if it is the correction of his personal
data. Such request shall be submitted in writing to the authority referred to
in Paragraph 4 of this Article.
Personal data referred to in Paragraph 2 of this
Article are data described in Article 3.10, Paragraph 1, Items a), b), c), e)
and j) of this Law.
Corrections of personal data in the Central Voters
Register shall be made by the competent authority responsible for keeping
records of such data.
Article
3.15
A citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina who has the
right to vote under this Law and is temporarily residing abroad and is recorded
in the Central Voters Register, in order to be included in the excerpt from the
Central Voters Register for out-of-country voting, is obliged to submit an
application to the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina for
every elections. The application must be received before the deadline set by
the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the
period after the elections are announced. Proof of identity of the applicant as
prescribed by this law and accurate details of the address abroad shall be
attached to the application, signed by the applicant.
A citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina who has the
status of a refugee from BIH and has the right to vote under this Law, and is
recorded in the Central Voter Register, in order to be included in the excerpt
from the Central Voters Register for out-of-country voting, is obliged to
submit an application to the Central Election Commission of BIH for every
elections. The application must be received before the deadline set by the
Central Election Commission of BIH in the period after the elections are
announced. The applicant should attach to the signed application, the following
proofs:
a)
proof of identity of the applicant as prescribed by
this Law;
b)
accurate details of the address abroad and
c)
proof of the permanent residence in Bosnia
and Herzegovina in
accordance with Article 20.8 of this Law, if he wants a change of the data
recorded in the Central Voters Register for the basic electoral unit that he
has the right to vote for.
A refugee from BiH who is not recorded in the
Central Voters Register, in order to be recorded in the Central Voters Register
and to exercise thereby his right to vote under this Law, must submit an
application to the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The
application must be received before the deadline set by the Central Election
Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the
period after the elections are announced. The applicant should attach to the
signed application, the following proofs:
a)
proof of identity of the applicant,
b)
proof of the citizenship of Bosnia
and Herzegovina,
c)
proof of the permanent residence in Bosnia
and Herzegovina, in
accordance with Article 20.8 of this Law and
d)
accurate details of the address abroad.
The following documents shall be admissible as
valid proof on identity of the applicant, pursuant to Item a) of Paragraph 3 of
this Article:
a)
Passport
b)
Driving license
c)
Valid personal identity card issued by the host
country and
d)
Refugee card issued by the Government of the host
country or another international organization.
If the requirements of Paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of
this Article are met, the applicant shall be recorded in the excerpt from the
Central Voters Register for out-of-country voting.
The applicant may send the completed
and signed application and the required documents by fax and electronically.
The procedure and method of sending, receiving, processing, filing (archiving)
and protection of electronic applications and documents shall be established by
the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina under a separate regulation.
The applicant referred to in Paragraphs 1, 2 and 3
of this Article shall be held
responsible for authenticity of data attached to the application.
The Central Election Commission of BIH shall
prescribe the layout of the application form referred to in Paragraphs 1, 2 and
3 of this Article, the manner and procedure to verify the accuracy of data in
the documents submitted by refugees from BIH who request to be recorded in the
Central Voters Register, to verify the proofs of identity and permanent
residence of the refugees and shall issue relevant instructions regarding the
procedure for recording voters in the excerpts of the Central Voters Register
for out-of –country voting.
Registration
into the Central Voters Register of the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina who have the status of refugees
from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and who have their voting rights
as provided by this Law, shall be a continuing process conducted during the
entire year, with the documentation attached as provided by paragraph (3) of
this Article.
Article 4.3
In order to participate in the elections, a political party
must be registered with the competent authority in accordance with the
law. The application for certification
must be accompanied by evidence that the political party is registered with the
competent authority, that is not older than 60 days. The political
party must apply for certification under the same name that it registered with
the competent authority.
Article 4.4
The application for
certification of a political party or independent candidate must include a list
setting out the name, original signature, , number of a valid
ID Card and National Identity number of each voter recorded
in the Central Voters Register who supports the application of the political party or
independent candidate.
The signature form
shall be prescribed by the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina. These forms shall be pre-printed forms and
shall contain, a space for the name of the political party or independent
candidate, and sequential serial numbers.
Political parties and independent candidates shall only collect
signatures on the forms assigned to them by the election commission of Bosnia and
Herzegovina.
Other forms submitted by a political party or independent candidate
shall not be accepted.
The signature form
shall also include the name, original signature, number of a valid
ID Card and National Identity number of the person(s) who are
responsible for collecting the supporter’s signatures.
In
order to be certified for participation in the elections, a political party
must present to the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina its application
for participation in the elections, which contains at least:
1.
three thousand (3,000) signatures of voters recorded
in the Central Voters Register for the elections for the members of the Presidency of
Bosnia and Herzegovina;
2.
three thousand (3,000) signatures of voters recorded
in the Central Voters Register for the elections for the members of the House of
Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
3.
two thousand (2,000) signatures of voters recorded
in the Central Voters Register for the elections for the members of the House of
Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina or for the members
of the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska or for the elections for the President of Vice Presidents of Republika
Srpska;
4.
five hundred (500) signatures of voters recorded
in the Central Voters Register for elections for the delegates of the Cantonal Assemblies
of the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina;
5.
one
hundred (100) signatures of voters recorded in the Central Voters Register for
the elections for the Municipal Council/Municipal Assembly and for the Head of
Municipality in a municipality where the number of voters recorded in the
Central Voters Register on the day when the elections are announced in the last elections held for that level of
authority did not exceed ten thousand (10,000) voters, or two hundred (200)
signatures for the election in the municipality in which this number exceeded
ten thousand (10,000) voters recorded in the Central Voters Register.
6.
(5)% of signatures of voters recorded in the Central
Voters Register for the election of Municipal Council or Municipal Assembly and
for the Head of Municipality, in a municipality where the number of voters
recorded in the Central Voters Register on the day when the elections are announced in the
last elections held for that level of authority did not exceed a thousand
(1000) voters recorded in the Central Voters Register;
7.
supporting signatures submitted for the higher
level of authority shall also be applicable to the lower levels of authority
included in the higher level of authority.
Article 4.5
Except for the
elections for the members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a
political party shall be exempt from the signature requirement established in
Article 4.4 of this law if a member of this political party holds a mandate in
the same body that the political party applies to certify to stand for office.
A political party shall be exempt
from the signature requirement established in Article 4.4 of this Law also in
the event that a request for verification of candidacy is filed for the body at
the same or lower level of authority in comparison with the body in which the
political party member already holds a mandate.
For
the purposes of this article the political party shall submit a signed
statement from the elected official that he or she was a member of that
political party at the time that he or she received the mandate and that he or
she is still a member of that party together with the confirmation form.
Article 4.7
If two (2) political parties have identical names or names
that are so similar that it could cause confusion or mislead a voter, the
Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall determine which party has the
right to use the name for the purposes of the elections, taking into account
the date each party registered with the competent authority.
Article 4.8
In
order to be certified for the elections, an independent candidate must present
his or her application for participation in the elections to the Central
Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina containing at
least:
1.
one thousand five hundred (1,500) signatures of voters recorded
in the Central Voter Register for the elections for the members of the Presidency of
Bosnia and Herzegovina;
2.
one thousand and five hundred (1,500) signatures of voters recorded
in the Central Voter Register for the members of the House of Representatives of the
Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
3.
one thousand (1,000) signatures of voters recorded
in the Central Voter Register for the elections for the members of the House of
Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina or members of the
National Assembly of the Republika Srpska
or for the elections for the President of Vice Presidents of Republika Srpska;
5.
one hundred (100) signatures of voters recorded
in the Central Voter Register for the elections for the Municipal Council/Assembly
and for the Mayor of Municipality.
6.
five (5) % of signatures of voters recorded in the Central
Voters Register for the election of
Municipal Council/Assembly and for the election of the Head of Municipality, in
the municipality in which the number of voters
recorded in the Central Voters Register on the day when the elections are announced has not exceeded a thousand (1000) voters recorded in the Central
Voters Register”.
Article 4.9
(NOTE: complete article is to be
amended)
An independent candidate, who has a
mandate in his/her capacity as independent candidate, shall, in the event that
he/she stands as a candidate for election of an authority at the same or lower
level than the authority where he/she holds his/her mandate, shall be exempt from the obligation of collecting the
signatures referred to in Article 4.8 of this Law, except the obligation of
collecting the signatures for election of the members of the BiH Presidency.
Article 4.10
An independent
candidate shall submit his or her application for candidacy no later than one-hundred
and thirty-five (135) days prior to the election and it
shall contain: the name and surname, ethnicity and valid ID Card number, address, national
identification number, date and signature of the independent candidate.
The Central
Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall certify the
application of an independent candidate for participation in the elections if
the application meets the requirements as established by this law not later
than within 15 days following the date the application is received.
The Central
Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall examine within two (2) days whether the application was submitted in
accordance with this law and certify, reject or request the candidate to
correct his or her application.
If the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina
identifies incorrect or incomplete information, or if it identifies any
other deficiency or irregularity in the application in the sense of this law or
of an act issued by the Central Election Commission of BiH, it shall notify
the applicant thereof, who shall be bound to correct the information within two
(2) days, after the date of receipt of such notification. Upon the expiration of this deadline, in the event that the independent candidate fails
to remove the deficiency or irregularity from the application, the Central
Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall not certify the application
of that independent candidate for participation in the elections, the Election
Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall decide whether or not to certify or
reject the application for participation in the elections.
If
the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina rejects the
application, the applicant shall have the right to request the Central Election
Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina to reconsider the
decision within two (2) days from the date of receipt of the decision. The Central Election Commission of Bosnia
and Herzegovina shall make a
decision within three (3) days from the date of receipt of the request.
An
independent candidate may not at the same time stand for office as an
independent candidate in more than one electoral unit or run for office on a
political party, list of independent candidates or coalition’s candidates list.
After
certification an independent candidate may not
withdraw his or her candidacy.
Article 4.12
Two (2) or more
certified political parties that choose to form a coalition must submit an
application for certification under one name to the Central Election Commission
of Bosnia and Herzegovina and a decision on the selection of the
authorized representative of coalition signed by all presidents of political
parties-coalition members and shall also provide the data about the coalition
seat and/or address where all correspondence shall be sent to. If the name of a
coalition is identical to or so similar to a political party or coalition’s name
that it could cause confusion or mislead a voter, the Central Election
Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall determine
who has the right to use the name for the purposes of the elections.
A coalition shall
submitt its application for certificatin no later than one hundered and ten
(110) days before the date of the elections, no later than within seven (7)
days following the day application is received.
The Central
Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall certify the
application of a coalition for participation in the elections if it meets the
requirements as established by this law.
If
the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina identifies incorrect
or incomplete information, or if it identifies any other deficiency or
irregularity in the application in the sense of this law or of an act issued by
the Central Election Commission of BiH it shall notify the applicant thereof, who
shall correct the information within two (2) days, after the
date of receipt of such notification Upon the expiration of this deadline, in the
event that the coalition fails to remove the deficiency or irregularity from
the application, the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina
shall not certify the application of that coalition for participation in the
elections the Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall decide whether or
not to certify or reject the application for participation in the elections.
If
the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina rejects the
application, the applicant shall have the right to request the Central Election
Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina to reconsider the
decision within two (2) days from the date of receipt of the decision. The Central
Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall make a
decision within three (3) days from the date of receipt of the request.
A
coalition may keep its coalition name
certified for
previous elections only if it consists of the same political parties that
comprised the certified coalition in the previous election.
Article 4.19
The
certified political party or coalition shall submit a separate candidates list
for each electoral unit.
For the municipal and cantonal elections the number of
candidates on the candidates list of the political party, coalition or list of
independent candidates may be ten percent (10%) higher than the number of
mandates that are to be allocated.
For
the multi-member constituencies established in Chapters 9, 10 and 11 of this
law and Mostar City Council the number of
candidates on the candidates list of a political party or coalition may be no
more than five (5) higher than the number of mandates that are to be allocated
in that multi-member constituency.
The candidates list shall contain: the name,
surname of every candidate on the list, their personal identification number
(JMBG number), permanent residence address, declared affiliation with a
particular constituent people or group of “Others”, valid ID card number and
place of issue, signature of the president of the political party or presidents
of the political parties in the coalition. The statement of each of the
candidates on the list validating the acceptance of candidacy, a
statement indicating that there are no impediments referred to in Article 1.10
paragraph (1), item 4 of this Law and a statement indicating the property
situation of the candidates referred to in Article 15.7 of this Law shall be
along with the proposed lists. This statement
and the statements must be certified in the
way described by law or with the competent Municipal Election
Commission.”.
A candidate shall be entitled not to declare his or
her ethnic affiliation with a particular constituent people of the group of
“Others” on the candidacy list. However, any such failure to declare the personal
affiliation shall be considered as a waiver of the right to an elected or
appointed office for which the declaration of affiliation with the particular
constituent people of the group of “Others” is a condition.
If the number of candidates on the candidates list exceeds the number
required by Paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article or if the candidates list fails
to meet the requirements established in Paragraph 4, the Central Election
Commission of BIH shall certify the candidate list up to the number fulfilling
the requirements established by this Law.
After the
certification of the submitted candidates lists the Central Election Commission
of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall publish a
list of candidates with the names of the certified political parties,
coalitions, independent candidates and lists of independent candidates for each
election in the sequence of the lottery number resulting from the lottery
established in Article 5.15 of this law. The lists of candidates shall be
published no later than forty-five (45) days before the election day in the
official gazettes. The candidates lists shall also be posted at the Polling
Stations and published in the media.
Following
the certification of the candidates lists and until such time as the printing
of ballots has commenced, a political party, coalition and independent
candidate list shall be entitled to replace a candidate on the list only in
case of death of the candidate or if in the meanwhile the candidate has become
incompetent for candidacy as provided by this Law”.
The Central Election
Commission of BIH shall remove from the candidate list the candidates referred
to in paragraph (2) of this Article and order the political party, coalition or
list of independent candidates to replace the candidates on the candidate list
and such candidates shall be subject to verifications in accordance with the
provision of this Law.
If the political party, coalition or list of independent
candidates fails to replace the candidates within the deadline under paragraph
3 herein, the candidates list without the names of candidates under paragraph 2
shall be considered complete and certified
Article 4.24
Each political
party and coalition certified to submit candidates for the House of Representatives
of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the House of Representatives
of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, or the National
Assembly of the Republika Srpska shall submit a list of candidates for
compensatory mandates to the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and
Hercegovina. Such list shall be submitted for each of the bodies listed above
for which the political party or coalition is certified, within five (5) days of the date of certification of
the candidates’ lists, as per Article 4.21 of this Law.
The list of
candidates for compensatory mandates shall include only the names of candidates
already included on the regular candidates lists submitted by the political
party or coalition for one or more multi-member constituencies. Candidates on a
list of candidates for compensatory mandates may be from the list of any
multi-member constituency within the same entity and at the same electoral
level. Lists of candidates for
compensatory mandates shall comply with paragraph 4 of Article 4.19.
Maximum number of names contained on
the list of candidates for the compensatory mandates may not exceed the number
already certified to the political party or coalition on all the regular lists
of candidates for all the multi-member election units of one Entity and for the
same election level.
Lists of candidates
for compensatory mandates shall not be published on the ballot, but shall only
be used for purposes of awarding compensatory mandates pursuant to Articles
9.7, 10.6, and 11.6 of the Law. The lists shall be published by the Central
Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina and mass media.
Article 5.2
A Polling Station
shall be designated in accordance with the number of voters, up to 800, and not exceeding one
thousand (1000), taking into consideration the distance of voters from the
Polling Station.
The
room designated for polling shall have special space which ensures the secrecy
of ballot.
The
Municipal Election Commission shall ensure, in a timely manner, that the
premises designated to be a Polling Station are prepared and open during the
time specified for the voting.
For
the purposes of this law, “Polling Station and surrounding area” shall include
the area within fifty (50) metres of the entrance of a building in which a
Polling Station is located.
Article 5.18
If a voter cannot be found on the excerpt from the Central
Voters Register because the voter registered to vote out of country and has
returned to vote in person in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the voter’s name
will be added to a special form that consists of all the categories of data as
the excerpt of the Central Voters Register.
The voter will sign the excerpt of the Central Voters Register, and the
voter will have the right to vote by tendered - enveloped ballot in
accordance with the other provisions of this law.
The voter’s identification documentation shall be retained
until the voter returns the tendered - enveloped ballot in the
sealed envelope. The voter’s ballot will
be placed in a special envelope by the voter, on which is written information
from which the voter’s right to vote can be verified, and which shall be sealed
before being placed by the voter in the ballot box. After the close of the
polling and after opening the ballot boxes in accordance with this law, the
Polling Station Committee shall count the number of tendered - enveloped ballots found in the ballot box and record
the number in the Poll Book and shall package and forward all sealed envelopes
to the Municipal Election Commission.
The Municipal Election Commission shall forward the packages of sealed
envelopes from each Polling Station in the municipality to the Central Election
Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and
Herzegovina shall confirm that
the voter is registered to vote out of country and the voter’s right to vote
before the envelope is opened and the ballot is counted. If it cannot be confirmed that the voter is
registered to vote out of country and has the right to vote, then the envelope
shall not be opened or counted.
Article 5.22
The Central Election
Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall establish Regulations for counting
ballots and establishing the voting results for ballots cast by voters who have
voted by tendered ballots, absentee ballots, ballots cast by prisoners or
voters confined to institutions, and homebound voters unable to come to the
Polling Station due to age, illness or disability, and ballots cast by
mail.
All ballots shall be counted at the Polling Stations, except
where the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina determines that
ballots should be counted at one or more centralised counting centres. The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and
Herzegovina shall establish
Regulations for counting ballots and establishing the results at a centralised
counting centre. The voting results at a centralised counting centre shall be
posted at the counting centre so that the results can be publicly viewed, and the copies of voting results shall be delivered to
accredited observers at the centralized counting upon their request.
The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall appoint a
director of the Centralised Counting Centre and three deputies. The director
and deputies shall be from different constituent peoples of Bosnia and
Herzegovina and one shall be a representative
of Others. The director and deputies shall be persons with a
minimum of three years of experience in conducting the elections and may not be active members of
any political party.
Ballots shall be counted in a manner that would not violate
the secrecy of the vote.
Article 5.26
After
the establishment of the voting results, a Polling Station Committee shall
forward immediately to the competent Municipal Election Commission, and no
later than twelve (12) hours after the close of the Polling Station, the
Polling Station Poll Book, the excerpt from the Central Voters Register, all
the special forms described in Article 5.18 of this law, all tendered ballots,
valid ballots, invalid ballots, separately unused and spoiled ballots, and all
other forms required by the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and
Herzegovina. The President of the
Polling Station Committee shall retain a copy of the report of results.
The
President of the Polling Station Committee shall post the table containing the detailed overview of the voting results
at the Polling Station categorized by political
stakeholders and candidates so that the results can be publicly viewed.
The Polling Station Committee shall deliver
all remaining election materials to the Municipal Election Commission.
Article 5.27
On the receipt of
all the election related documents and materials from the Polling Station
Committees, the Municipal Election Commission shall establish a consolidated
summary of the results of voting within the area of the municipality for the
bodies at all levels of authority at which the elections were conducted and
shall make a report accordingly, which shall be submitted to the Central
Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina within twenty-four (24) hours
after closing of the polls. The
consolidated summary of results for the municipality shall contain the same
information as required under Article 5.25 of this law. A copy of the consolidated summary of results
shall be retained by the Municipal Election Commission, and shall be
distributed to the other electoral bodies as defined in Regulations of the
Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The
Municipal Election Commission shall post the table containing the detailed overview of the
consolidated summary of the results categorized by political
stakeholders and candidates so that the
consolidated summary can be publicly viewed, and copies of comprehensive voting results shall be
delivered to accredited observers of activities of the Municipal Election Commission,
upon their request.
Article 5.28
While
establishing the election results for the bodies at each level of authority,
the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall take into
account a ballot cast by mail by a voter abroad, provided the ballot is
delivered to the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina by
postal authorities by a time and date to be determined by the Central Election
Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina in its regulations. In order to be
acceptable, each individual envelope containing a ballot must be received in a
post office box by election day and postmarked by the postal office of the
country from which the ballot is cast.
By
mail ballots that are not delivered in compliance with the paragraph (1) of this Article shall not be
counted.
In
order for a timely delivered by mail ballot to be counted, it must be returned
by a voter who has been determined to be properly registered to vote by mail,
sealed in the ballot envelope to ensure secrecy of the person’s vote, and
accompanied by a copy of an identification document described in Article 5.12
of this law.
Article 5.29
The Central Election
Commission of BIH shall certify the results of all direct and indirect
elections covered by this Law, after the expiry of the deadline for filing the
appeals/complaints, or after the decisions have become final and binding.
The
Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall provide in its
Regulations the order of establishing the election results for the bodies of
authority at every level, the manner of making the detailed tabulation of
results of the voting available to the public and announcing the election
results. The detailed tabulation of
election results, without violating the secrecy of the vote required by Article
5.10, shall include results at the polling station level by political
entities and candidates.
Article 5.29a
Central Election Commission shall publish preliminary,
unofficial and incomplete results of elections for each level of authority
subject to elections, according to the following schedule:
-
first
results at 00 hours on the first Sunday in October;
-
twice
during the course of the next 24 hours;
-
in
the next 5 days, every 24 hours
in the next days, every 48 hours, until the final, official
and complete results of elections are published.
Article 5.30
After establishment and announcement of the election results by the Central Election
Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a Municipal Election Commission, a
certified political party, coalition, list of independent candidates, or
independent candidate may request that a recount of ballots be conducted by the
Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina in specified electoral
units in which the political party, coalition, list of independent candidates,
or independent candidate stood for election. An accredited observer may request
that a recount of ballots be conducted by the Central Election Commission of
Bosnia and Herzegovina in a Polling Station at which the observer observed. A
certified political party, coalition, list of independent candidates, independent
candidate, or observer may also request that a recount of ballots be conducted
by the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina of absentee
ballots, ballots cast outside Bosnia and Herzegovina or tendered - enveloped ballots.
A
group of fifty (50) or more voters who voted at the same Polling Station may
request that a recount of ballots be conducted by the Central Election
Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Polling Station at which they
voted.
A
Municipal Election Commission may request that a recount of ballots be
conducted by the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina in a
Polling Station in its municipality.
The
Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall consider a request
for recount if the request meets each of the following requirements:
1.
the request is in writing and signed by the accredited
observer, group of fifty (50) or more voters who voted at the same Polling
Station, independent candidate, president
of the political party, leaders of the list of independent candidates, any of
the presidents of political parties which formed a coalition or the Municipal
Election Commission;
2.
the request states with specificity the facts which justify a
recount, including the specific articles of this law which were disregarded or
violated;
3.
the request states with specificity the approximate number of
ballots believed to have been affected;
4.
the request states how the results would have been affected
by the violation of this law, and
5.
the request is presented to the Central Election Commission
of Bosnia and Herzegovina within three (3) days of the date the Central
Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced the election results.
The
Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina may order a recount, ex officio, even if no request for recount has been
made under paragraph 1 of this article or if the request for recount has been
deemed invalid under paragraph 3 of this article.
The
Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall order a recount if
it is established that this law was violated and the violation affected the allocation
of mandates.
Article 5.32
After completion of a recount of ballots and upon the expiry
of the time foreseen for filing of the appeal, of after the decisions become
final and binding, the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina
shall verify the election results for the bodies of authority at all levels, within 30 days
after the elections are held.
The Central
Election Commission of BiH shall issue the regulations
governing the verification of the election results.
Article 6.2
Any
voter and any political entity whose right established by this law, is
violated, may file a complaint with the election commission not later than
within 48 hours after the violation occurred.
The election commissions may, upon receiving
information concerning the violations, initiate a procedure by virtue of its
authority against a political entity and persons employed or hired otherwise by the election
commission of the violations of the code of conduct set out
in Article 7.3 of this Law.
The initiative for the procedure, in the terms of
Paragraph 2 of this Article, may be launched by a legal or natural entity
through the competent Municipal Election Commission, in a written form, where information on the place, the time, the content
of the violation and the name of the perpetrator shall be mandatory information.
Article 6.3
The complaint shall be filed on the
form prescribed by the Central Election Commission of BiH. It shall contain a brief description of the violation and, as an
attachment, the evidence that confirms the allegations of the complaint. The complaint also must be signed by the
complainant. If the complainant is a political party or a coalition, it shall
be signed by the President or the authorised representative of the political
party or the coalition, with the authorization attached to the complaint.
The
authorised representative of a political party is considered to be the
President of the municipal organisational unit of the political party or the
person authorised under the statute. If a municipal organisational unit of a
political party has not been established at the municipal level, the authorised
representative shall be considered to be the President of the organisational
unit of the political party at a higher level. The authorised representative of
a coalition shall be considered to be the President of the municipal
organisational unit of one of the parties members of the coalition or the
person authorised under statute. Data on the authorised representative of the
political party shall be deposited with the Municipal Election Commission.
The
complaint shall be sent to all parties that are named. The parties named in the
complaint shall have the opportunity to respond in writing within 24 hours
after receiving the complaint. The authorised bodies may order a hearing of the
parties.
The
Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall establish Rules of
Procedure for adjudicating complaints filed with any election commission.
The
complaint, which has been filed by an unauthorised person under Article 6.2 of
this Law or which has been filed untimely or is incomplete, shall be rejected.
The
complaint shall also be rejected if it is impossible to establish who has
submitted the complaint. The filed complaint or appeal in the procedure of
protection of the electoral right shall not postpone the conduct of
election-related activities prescribed by this Law.
Article 6.4
The
Municipal Election Commission shall have first instance competence in its
municipality to decide complaints submitted for violation of the code of
conduct referred to in Chapter 7, with an exemption from violations referred to
in Article 7.3 paragraph 1. items 3 and 7,
Article 7.3 paragraph (2) and Article 7.4, Paragraph 1,
Sub-paragraph 3 of this Law, subject to decision of the Central Election
Commission of BIH.
The
Municipal Election Commission shall adjudicate the complaint and make a
decision no later than within forty-eight (48) hours from the expiration of the
deadline referred to in Article 6.3 Paragraph 3 of this law. It shall
immediately notify the complainant and the other parties of the decision. When deciding on objections,
Municipal Election Commission may act on the basis of established facts or hold
hearings.
The
complaint, which has been filed by an unauthorised person under Article 6.2 of
this Law or has been filed untimely, shall be rejected.
Article 6.5
The
Municipal Election Commission may order measures to
correct irregularities referred to in the complaint from Article 6.4 of this
Law, including, but not limited to adding or deleting voters from the Central
Voter Register,
raise an initiative for removing the person working on the
voters registration or
remove the member in the Polling Station Committee, or
ordering certain person or a party to cease the activities that violate this Law and impose a fine.
Article 6.6
The
Central Election Commission of BiH shall have first instance competence to
decide complaints submitted for violation of the rules of election process,
electoral rights, violations
of Chapter 16 inflicted by political subject and violations under Article 7.3,
paragraph 1, items 3 and 7, Article 7.3, paragraph 2 and Article 7.4, paragraph
1, item 3 of this Law.
Decisions
of election commissions may be appealed to the Central Election Commission of
Bosnia and Herzegovina, within 48 hours following the receipt of the first-instance
decision..
The
Central Election Commission of BIH shall adjudicate the complaint and appeal
and make a decision no later than within forty-eight (48) hours from the
expiration of the deadline referred to in Article 6.3 Paragraph 3 of this Law.
The Central Election Commission of BIH shall immediately notify the complainant
and the other parties of its decision.
The complaint or the appeal which has been filed
by an unauthorised person under Article 6.2 of this Law or which complaint or
appeal has been filed untimely, shall be rejected.
When adjudicating an appeal or
complaint, the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina may
proceed on the facts established or may conduct hearings. The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and
Herzegovina may allow parties to present new evidence or base their decisions
on the written record of the lower instance commissions.
Article 6.7
The Central Election Commission of BIH shall have
the authority, in adjudicating ex officio or when decides on appeals
and complaints, to order the election commission, the Voters Registration
Centre or the Polling Station Committee to
undertake measures to correct established irregularities. The Central Election
Commission of BIH shall have the authority to impose the following penalties:
1. fines not to exceed ten thousand (10,000)
convertible marks;
2. removal of a candidate from a candidates
list when it is determined that the candidate was personally responsible for
the violation;
3. de-certification of a political party,
coalition, list of independent candidates or independent candidate(s); and
4. prohibition to an individual to work in a
Polling Station, the Voters Registration Centre, or the Municipal Election
Commission or another election commission as established pursuant to Article
2.21 of this law.
Article
6.9
The Appellate Division of the Court of Bosnia and
Herzegovina shall be competent to hear appeals against decisions of the Central
Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina. An appeal shall be submitted to
the Appellate Division of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina no later than 2
days after a decision of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina is received
by which the decision
is taken on the implementation of this Law..
An
appeal shall be submitted through the Central Election Commission of BIH.
Appellate
Division of the BIH Court, when deciding on application of this Law, is obliged to
make a decision on an appeal within three (3) days from the day of the receipt
of the appeal.
Political parties,
coalitions, lists of independent candidates and independent candidates have the
right to:
1.
conduct the election campaign in a peaceful environment;
2.
organise and hold public meetings in which they can freely
express their positions in order to gain support from the voters; and
3.
publish and distribute placards, posters and other materials related to the election
campaign.
For the purposes of
public meetings as stated in sub-paragraph (2) of the previous paragraph,
permits from the competent body shall not be required, but the organiser shall
notify the competent body responsible for public order and peace twenty-four
(24) hours prior to holding such an event.
In case that two or more
organisers announced to the competent body holding of their public meetings at
the same time and place, the holding of a public meeting at that time and place
shall be permitted to the organiser which notified the competent body in
writing of the holding of the public meeting first. The competent authority shall inform
the organizers about this within maximum of 12 hours form the receipt of the
announcement of the public meeting.
Article 7.2
The competent bodies are obliged to ensure equitable
treatment of political parties, coalitions, lists of independent candidates certified
for participation in elections and independent candidates in their requests to use
public places and public facilities for campaign purposes, including holding
meetings, display of notices, placards, and posters and other materials which
have such purpose.
It is forbidden to remove, cover, destroy or alter any
printed notice, placard, poster or other materials, which are in accordance
with the law and are used for the purpose of election campaigning by political
parties, coalitions, list of independent candidates, or independent candidates.
Competent bodies shall not allow political parties,
coalitions, list of independent candidates and independent candidates to
display notices, placards and posters, or to place their names or slogans
related to the election campaign in or on government buildings, on or above
public roads and public areas, except for the places designated for billboarding (i.e.
distribution of posters) and advertising..
Article
7.3
Candidates
and supporters of political parties, lists of independent candidates, and coalitions,
as well as independent candidates and their supporters, and election
administration officials or those hired otherwise by the
election administration are not allowed to:
1.
carry or display weapons at political meetings, Polling
Stations and the surrounding area, or during any gatherings related to the
activities of political parties, coalitions, list of independent candidates and
independent candidates in the election process;
2.
disturb gatherings of other political parties, coalitions and
independent candidates, as well as to incite others to conduct such activities;
3.
prevent journalists from carrying out their duties, in
accordance with the rights of their profession and the election rules;
4.
promise any financial reward with the purpose of gaining
support of voters, or to threaten supporters of other political parties,
coalitions, list of independent candidates or independent candidates;
5.
induce a person to vote who does not have the legal right to
vote;
6.
induce a person to vote more than once in the same election,
or to vote in the name of another person; or
7.
use language which could provoke or incite someone to
violence or spread hatred, or to publish or use pictures, symbols, audio and video recordings, SMS messages, internet communication or any other
materials that could have such effect.
Impersonating any
political party, coalition, list of independent candidates or independent
candidate is prohibited.
Article 9.7a
Notwithstanding provisions of Articles 9.6 and 4.24 herein,
a political party or a coalition which no longer has candidates registered with
the list of candidates for compensatory mandates, but still has won mandates to
assign, upon informing the Central Election Commission, within 48 hours and
using the prescribed form, may submit supplementary list of candidates for
compensatory mandates pursuant to Article 4.19, paragraph (4) of this Law.
Central Election Commission shall
issue a separate Instruction for the procedure for submitting the supplementary
list of candidates for compensation mandates and the form mentioned under
paragraph (1) of this Article.
Article 9.10
If an elected political party or coalition candidate’s
mandate terminates in accordance with the provisions of Article 1.10 of this
law, then the mandate shall be given to the next candidate from the same
constituency list in accordance with Article 9.8 paragraph 2 of this law.
If there are no more candidates on the same constituency
list, then the mandate shall be given to the same political party or
coalition’s list in another constituency in accordance with Article 9.8
paragraph 3 of this law. If there are no
more candidates remaining on any list for the political party or coalition,
then political party or
coalition with more mandates left to assign, upon informing the Central
Election Commission, within 48 hours and using the prescribed form, may submit
supplementary list of candidates pursuant to Article 4.19, paragraph 4 of this
Law..
Article 9.12c
Bosniak or Croat Delegates to the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary
Assembly of BIH shall be elected in such a way that each political subject participating in the Bosniak
or Croat Caucus or each Delegate from the Bosniak or the Croat Caucus in the
House of Peoples of the Parliament of the Federation of BIH, shall have right
to nominate one or more candidates to the list for the election of Bosniak or
Croat Delegates to the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BIH.
Each list may include more candidates than the number of Delegates to
be elected to the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BIH.
Article 13.6
If
the mandate of a candidate from the list of a political party, coalition, or
independent candidates terminates in accordance with Article 1.10 of this law,
then the mandate shall pass to the next candidate as set forth in Article 13.5 paragraph 4 of this law.
The Central Election Commission of BiH shall carry out the
reallocation of the mandates according to the procedure set out under Article
9.5 of this Law
Article 13.7
The Municipal Mayor or City Mayor shall be
elected in accordance with this Law, the Constitutions, the Entity laws, and
Municipal or City statutes.
The
directly elected Municipal/City Mayor shall be elected by the voters registered
in the Central Voter Register of the particular Polling Station in accordance
with the entity laws, Municipal or City statutes.
In the event that the term of office for an elected
Municipal/City Mayor referred to in paragraph (2) of this Article has
terminated as provided by Article 1.10 of this Law or if he/she has been
recalled, the Municipal/City Mayor shall be elected in accordance with the
entity laws, Municipal/City statutes.
Article 13.10
The members of the City Council/Assembly
shall be elected by the Municipal Councils/Assemblies which form the City.
Mandates for the City Council/Assembly
shall be allocated to candidate lists according to the system of proportional
representation of political parties, coalitions, lists of independent
candidates or groups of members as set forth in Article 13.5 of this law. Distribution
of mandates amongst the candidates from the same list shall be done according
to the order on the list of candidates for this election.
Each City Council/Assembly shall elect a
Mayor and a President of the City Council/Assembly as set forth in law and statute.
Article 13.11
The mandate of the
Municipal Councils/Assemblies, City
Council/Assembly and the Cantonal Assemblies shall be for
four (4) years.
Article 13.12
The election of the members of the City Council/Assembly
shall take place within fifteen (15) days after the Municipal
Councils/Assemblies convene.
Article 13.14
(1)
National
Minority Members are entitled to representation in the Municipal Council or
Municipal Assembly and City Council or City Assembly proportional to the
percentage of their participation in population according to the last census in
Bosnia and Herzegovina.
(2)
Number
of National Minority Members elected directly to the Municipal Council or
Municipal Assembly and City Council or City Assembly shall be determined under
the Statute of specific Municipality or City.
(3)
In
order to certify participation in elections to take the mandates for the
members of national minorities in the Municipal Council or Municipal Assembly
and City Council or City Assembly, political parties and independent candidates
shall submit the application for participation in elections for the Municipal
Council or Municipal Assembly and City Council or City Assembly, pursuant to
provisions of this Law.
(4)
Following
persons are eligible to apply for guaranteed mandates for the members of
national minorities:
a)
Registered
association or other organizational form of activities of the national
minorities;
b)
Group
of 40 citizens with the right to vote at minimum, who submit the names of
candidates along with the application to participate in elections.
(5)
Candidates
nominated by the association or other organization of the national minority or
a group with minimum 40 citizens with the right to vote, shall have the status
of independent candidate.
(6)
Political
parties, political party coalitions, national minority association as well as
other organizational form of activities of the national minorities and group
with minimum 40 citizens with the right to vote may nominate at maximum the
number of candidates equal to the number of representatives of national minority
being elected in this election unit.
(7)
After
each candidate’s nomination is certified, Central Election Commission of Bosnia
and Herzegovina shall establish final special list
of candidates, members of national minorities, for the Municipal Council or
Municipal Assembly and City Council or City Assembly.
(8)
Only
candidate whose name is on the special list of candidates representing national
minorities nominated pursuant to provisions of this Law may be elected as
representatives of national minority.
(9)
Special
list of candidates belonging to national minority as outlined under paragraph 7
herein, shall be placed on the ballot following the list of other political
entities whose candidates are running for the regular mandates for Municipal
Council or Municipal Assembly and City Council or City Assembly.
(10)
The
order of the candidates on the special list under paragraph 9 herein, shall be
set by draw in the procedure as established by the Central Election Commission
of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
(11)
A
voter only has one vote. In case the voter decides to vote for the candidate
from a special list of candidates from the members of national minorities, the
voter shall vote by marking the name of only one candidate from a special list
of candidates who are members of national minorities.
(12)
The
candidate with highest number of votes on the special list of candidates for
national minorities shall be elected as representative of national minority. In
the Municipal Council or Municipal Assembly and City Council or City Assembly
with more than one position for the national minority, mandates shall be given
to candidates with next highest number of votes according to the number of
valid votes.
(13)
Provisions
of Article 9.5, paragraph 3 of this Law shall not be applied when allocating mandates
for the list of national minority candidates for the Municipal Council or
Municipal Assembly and City Council or City Assembly.
(14)
When
allocating mandates, guaranteed mandates are first assigned to the
representatives of national minorities, and subsequently the regular mandates
under Article 9.5 of this Law.
(15)
In
case when two candidates from the special list of candidates of national
minority win equal number of votes, mandate shall be given by draw organized by
Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
(16)
In
case the mandate is not given to the member of national minority, the mandate
shall remain vacant.
(17)
In
case of termination of the mandate, in the sense of Article 1.10 of this Law,
of the elected holder of the mandate under paragraph 12 herein, substitute
mandate shall be given to the candidate with next highest number of valid votes
on the special list of candidates of national minority. If the list is
exhausted, the mandate shall remain vacant.
(18) General provisions of this Law shall
govern any issue that is not regulated under this Chapter.
Article 14.1
Repeated
elections shall be conducted using the same candidate lists and the same excerpts
from the Central Voters Register which were used in the annulled elections and
shall be conducted on a date determined by the Central Election Commission of
Bosnia and Herzegovina which shall be no later than fourteen (14) days from the
date when the decision of the Central Election Commission of BIH to annul the
elections became final.
Article 14.2
The decision to
postpone the elections at a particular polling station or electoral unit shall
be issued by the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the basis of facts indicating
that the elections are not possible to be conducted in accordance with the
provisions of this Law.
Postponed
elections shall be conducted if, in an electoral unit or at a Polling Station,
the voting did not take place on the day designated for voting.
Postponed elections
shall be scheduled by the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Postponed elections
shall, as a rule, be conducted within seven (7) days, and no later than thirty
(30) days, from the day designated for voting in the regular elections.
Article 15.1
A political party and independent candidate
that participates in the elections for bodies of authority at all levels in
Bosnia and Herzegovina shall be obliged to file with the Central Election
Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the time of submission of the application
for certification to participate in the elections a financial report for the
period beginning three months prior to the date of submission. In addition, no later than thirty (30) days
after the election results are published in the Official
Gazette of BIH, a financial report shall be submitted to the Central
Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the period beginning on the
day of submission of the application for certification until the certification
of the results. These reports shall contain
the following:
1.
All cash at hand;
2.
All income and disbursements based on: memberships; transparent; contributions from abroad; contributions
from individual and legal entities; contributions in the form of goods and
services (hereinafter referred to as “in-kind contributions”); returns on its
own assets and entrepreneurial activities in accordance with provisions of the
Law on Political Party Financing; credits; loans; donations; rebates; refunds;
other operating expenditures; and other sources for the reporting period as
determined by the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
3.
Identification of the person or source of any payment and
in-kind contribution, as well as the identification of a person who received
that payment, in excess of one hundred
(100) convertible marks, together with the date and amount of any such
receipt;
4.
The total amount of all account payables and total
amount of disbursements in the following categories: costs for printing and
distribution of posters, printing costs for pre-election announcements,
statements and so on, in the public media, organizational and operational costs
for organizing rallies, costs for printing, reproducing and delivering
pre-election materials directly to voters, and
5.
the amount and nature of outstanding debts and obligations
owed by or to the person who files a report and where such debts and
obligations are settled for less than their reported amount or value, a
statement as to the circumstances and conditions under which such debts or
obligations were extinguished.
(2) The application for participation in the election filed
by a political party and an independent candidate shall not be certified if the
political party and the independent candidate have failed to submit the
financial report for the period commencing three months prior to the start of
the period designated for submission of the application for certification.
(3) The Central Election Commission shall not issue the
certificate to the persons who have received the mandate at all levels of
direct and indirect elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina covered by this Law, if
their political party and independent candidate have failed to submit to the
Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina the financial report
covering the period between the day when the application for election
certification is filed and the day when the election results are certified,
within 30 days following the day when the election results are published in the
Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Article 15.7
Every candidate
standing for elected office at the level of Bosnia and Herzegovina or the
Entity level shall be obliged, no later than fifteen (15) days from the day of
accepting candidacy for the elections, to submit to the Central Election
Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on a special form, a signed statement on
his or her total property situation, containing:
1.
current income and sources of income, including all incomes,
wages, profit from property, contributions as defined in Article 15.1 of this
law, account receivables and other incomes realised in Bosnia and Herzegovina
and abroad for a period of the past calendar
year;
2.
property, including money, bank accounts, business
documentation, shares, securities, bonds, real property, personal property,
occupancy right and other property and possessions which exceed five thousand
(5,000) convertible marks, in Bosnia and Herzegovina and abroad; and
3.
disbursements and other liabilities, including all debts,
liabilities, promissory notes, loans and guarantees of such liabilities in
Bosnia and Herzegovina and abroad.
The statement
should include the property situation of the candidates and close members of
his or her family: spouse, children and members of the family household whom it
is the candidate’s legal obligation to sustain.
Article 15.8
All candidates
elected at all levels of authority except the level of Bosnia and Herzegovina
and the Entity level shall be obliged to submit to the Central Election
Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina, within thirty
(30) days from the publication of the verification of mandates in the Official Gazette of BIH, a signed statement of their property situation referred to
in Article 15.7 of this law on a special form.
Candidates elected to a body of authority at all
levels shall be required to submit a statement of their property situation to
the Central Election Commission of BIH 30 days after the expiration of the
mandate for which they have been elected, as well as in the case of cessation
of the mandate in the context of the provisions of Article 1.10, Paragraph 1,
sub-paragraph 1, 3, 5, 6 and 7 of this Law, within 30 days from the cessation
of the mandate.
The Central Election Commission of BIH shall issue
instructions to regulate the format and the manner of filling out of necessary
forms as described by Paragraph 1 of this Article and Article 15.7 of this Law.
Article 15.10
The Central Election Commission
of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall
announce the number of voters for each electoral unit within seven days of the
day of completion of the Central Voters Register. The number of voters shall
serve as a basis to determine a maximum amount that a political entity shall be
allowed to spend for financing the election campaign
The
maximum amount allowed to be spent for financing the election campaign shall
represent a result of the multiplication of the number of voters in all
electoral units in which the political entity referred to in Paragraph 1 of
this Article has a list of candidates by:
1.
0.30 KM ……………………… for the elections of Head of
Municipality/City Mayor and members of the Municipal Council/Assembly
2.
0.20 KM ……………………….. for the elections of members of
Cantonal Assemblies
3.
0.30 KM ……………………….….. for the elections of members
of the RS National Assembly and the House of Representatives of the Federation
Parliament
4.
0.30 KM …………………………….. for the elections of members of the
Parliamentary Assembly of BIH
5.
0.30 KM ………………………………. for the elections of members
of the Presidency of BiH
6.
0.30 KM ………………………………… for the elections of
President and Vice-President of the Republika Srpska.
For the elections referred to in
Paragraph 2, sub-paragraph 1 of this Article, in the municipalities with less
than 3,000 voters recorded in the Central Voter Register, it shall be
considered that 3,000 voters are registered.
If the
elections are repeated in an electoral unit, or in the Polling Station, the
costs of the election campaign per voter can increase by up to 30% of the costs
of the elections annulled in the electoral unit or the polling.
Article 16.9
The public electronic media
shall broadcast radio
and TV promotionals, entire statements and information by the Central
Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina free of charge for the purpose of
informing voters about all aspects of the electoral process.
If the public electronic media refuse to act in accordance with paragraph
(1) of this Article, the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina
shall file a report with the Communications Regulatory Agency for competent
action.
Article 16.14
The public electronic media shall present political
entities in an equal and fair manner and shall inform the public of all issues
related to the campaign and the election process during 30 days prior to the
election day.
The public electronic media shall provide free
broadcast time for direct access by political entities during 30 days prior to
the election day.
No
conduct of a paid election campaign shall be allowed by way of electronic and
printed media, or any form of paid public advertising, except for the holding
of internal gatherings (meetings) of authorities and statutory bodies of the
political entities, within the period between the day when elections are
announced and the day of official start of the election campaign.
The regulations of the Central Election Commission
of BIH shall determine the amount of broadcast time to be allocated to the
political entities, the broadcast time and duration of the broadcast, as well
as the geographic regions covered by the broadcasts.
The public electronic media shall provide equal
conditions for paid political advertisements of political parties in the
duration of maximum 30 minutes per week during 30 days prior to the election
day.
Article 16.16
The body
regulating the work of the electronic media that is responsible to implement
laws and regulations related to media, shall be competent in all cases of
violation of the provisions governing the media concerning elections as
established by this Law and other laws governing the work of the media.
The Central Election Commission of BIH shall be competent to
decide complaints of violations of this Chapter committed by political
entities.
Article
17.4
The Central
Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall accredit and issue accreditation
identification to associations of citizens.
The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall
establish Regulations in order to determine the criteria for accreditation of
the associations of citizens and the distribution of accreditation
identification. The application for accreditation
shall include:
1.
a signed statement by the authorised person of the
association of citizens that the association is not established or sponsored by
or engaged in any activities on behalf of a registered political party,
coalition, list of independent candidates or independent candidate; and
2.
the name, valid ID card number,
national identification number of the nominated observer.
In the event that
the Central Election Commission of BiH finds that an association of citizens is
established and sponsored by a certified political party or that it is involved
in any activities on behalf of the certified political party, the Central
Election Commission of BiH shall refuse to issue the accreditation
identification that association.
Article 17.5
The competent election commission
shall accredit a registered political party, coalition, list of independent
candidates or independent candidate to act as observers in the electoral unit
in which the political party, coalition, list of independent candidates or
independent candidate has registered to stand for office.
The Central
Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall accredit observers who will
observe the work of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina
and the Central Counting Centre(s).
Entity and Cantonal
Election Commissions shall accredit observers who will observe the work of
their commissions.
A Municipal
Election Commission shall accredit observers who will observe the work of the
Municipal Election Commission, Voter Registration Centres, Polling Stations,
and any other relevant location in its jurisdiction.
The political
party, coalition, list of independent candidates or independent candidate shall
submit the names, valid ID card number and national
identification numbers of the nominated observers to the competent election
commission.
Article
17.10
The
body issuing accreditation to an accredited observer may revoke his/her status
of an observer and cancel the accreditation because of a violation of the
provision of Article 17.2.
The
Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall issue detailed
regulations on the conditions and procedure of the application of this Chapter.
CHAPTER 19A
PENALTIES
Article
19.8
A
fine between 200 KM and 1,000 KM shall be imposed on those employed or those
hired in the election administration for the following violations:
a) he/she takes part in passing a decision which
may cast doubt on his/her ability to act impartially (Article 2.1);
b) he/she fails to determine polling stations in
the territory of the municipality for voting at all levels of authorities in
Bosnia and Herzegovina (Article 2.13 Paragraph (1) Item 3);
c) he/she fails to provide voters materials for
voting at all levels of elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Article
2.13 Paragraph (1) Item 5);
d) he/she fails to provide voters with all
information necessary for the administration of elections in line with the regulations
of the BiH Central Election Commission (Article 2.13 Paragraph (1) Item 6);
e) he/she counts ballots at polling stations and
in municipal counting centres in an inappropriate manner (Article 2.13
Paragraph (1) Item 8);
f) he/she appoints presidents and members of
polling stations and their deputies in contravention of Article 2.19 Paragraph
(3);.
g) he/she fails to update data in line with the
changes in the number of voters and regulations of the BiH Central Election
Commission (Article 3.8 Paragraph (3) Item b));
h) he/she fails to provide insight into the
excerpt from the Central Voters List in the territory of the municipality
(Article 3.8 Paragraph (3) Item c));
i) he/she fails to provide data for the Central
Voters List as stipulated by the regulations of the BiH Central Election
Commission (Article 3.8 Paragraph (3) Item d));
j) he/she fails to keep record of requests and
complains and fails to keep documentation (Article 3.8 Paragraph (4));
k) he/she
designates polling stations contrary to Article 5.1, paragraph (3);
l) he/she
fails to provide election material for voting (Article 5.3, paragraph (3);
m) the
record on the work of the polling committee does not contain the data
stipulated by this law (Article 5.7);
n) he/she
fails to explain to voters the manner of voting and fails to secure secrecy of
vote (Article 5.11, paragraph (1));
o) he/she
fails to verify the identity and signature of voters on the abstract from the
Central Electoral Register in accordance with this law (Article 5.13);
p) he/she
helps individuals with the voting in a manner which is not in accordance with
this law (Article 5.19, paragraph (2));
r) the
forms are filled in contrary to Article 5.25; and
s) the
data of the consolidated voting results for the municipality are not in
accordance with Article 5.27;
Article 19.9
(1) A
political subject shall be fined 1,000.00 KM to 10,000.00 KM
for the violations if they:
a) fail to
submit changes of data within ten (10) days (Article 4.22);
b) remove,
cover up, damage or alter printed advertisements, placards, posters or other
materials which are used, in accordance with law, for the purpose of the
election campaign of political parties, coalitions, lists of independent
candidates or independent candidates (Article 7.2, paragraph (2);
c) displays notices, placards and
posters, or to place their names or slogans related to the election campaign,
in or on state government buildings, in public areas, on or above public roads,
and on traffic signs (Article 7.2, paragraph 3) ;
d) wear and show weapons in political
gatherings, polling stations and their surroundings, as well as during
gatherings related to the activities of political parties, coalitions,
independent candidates’ lists and independent candidates in election process
(Article 7.3 paragraph (1) item 1);
e) hinder the gatherings of other political
parties coalitions and independent candidates, and incite others to such
activities (Article 7.3 paragraph (1) item 2);
f) prevent journalists from carrying out their
work in accordance with their professional rules and election rules (Article
7.3 paragraph (1) item 3);
g) promise financial rewards with the aim of
getting the support of voters or threaten the followers of other political
parties, coalitions, independent candidates’ lists and independent candidates
(Article 7.3 paragraph (1) item 4);
h) incite persons who are not entitled to vote
to do so (Article 7.3 paragraph (1) item 5);
i) incite persons to vote more than once in one
election, or to vote on behalf of other persons (Article 7.3 paragraph (1) item
6);
j) use the language that could induce or incite
someone to violence or spreading hatred, or publish or use pictures, symbols,
audio and video recordings, text messages, internet messages or other materials
that can have the same effect (Article 7.3 paragraph (1) item 7.);
k) make false claims on behalf of any political
party, coalition, independent candidates’ list and independent candidate
(Article 7.3 paragraph (2));
l) hold gatherings for the purpose of election
campaign (Article 7.4 paragraph (1) item 1);
m) display any materials aimed at influencing
voters in a polling station or its surroundings (Article 7.4 paragraph (1) item
2);
n) use local and international means of
communication aimed at influencing voters (Article 7.4 paragraph (1) item 3);
o) use a megaphone or other public address means
with the aim of influencing voters (Article 7.4 paragraph (1) item 4);
p) hinder or obstruct election process (Article
7.4 paragraph (1) item 5);
r) fail to submit a statement accepting
candidature for elections or a statement on total property owned on a specific
form (Article 15.7);
s) [if]
an observer, while observing election process, hinders election activities and
fails to respect the secrecy of voting (Article 17.2 paragraph (2);
t) [if] an observer, while
observing election activities, fails to wear official accreditation or wears
any insignia or symbols linking him/her to a certain political party, coalition, independent
candidates’ list and independent candidate (Article 17.2 paragraph
(2);
(2) For the offence referred to in paragraph (1)
item b), c),d), e), f), g), h), i), j), k), l), m), n, o) and p) of this Article
perpetrated by a follower of a political subject, that political subject shall
be punished.
(3) For the offence referred to in paragraph (1)
item a) of this Article, the responsible person in the political party,
coalition and list of independent candidates shall also be fined KM 200 to KM
5000.
(4) For the offence referred to in paragraph (1)
item b), c), d), e), f), g), h),
i), j), k), l), m), n), o), p)
and r) of this Article, the candidate of the political subject shall also be
fined KM 1000 to KM 5000.
(5) For
violations referred to in paragraph (1) sub-paragraphs d), h) and i) of this
Article, those employed or hired in the election administration shall be fined
in the amount from 200 KM to 1,000 KM.
Article
19.10
(1) A
candidate elected for any level of government shall be fined 200.00 KM to
3,000.00 KM if:
a) he/she
fails to submit on a special form a written disclosure of his/her property as
specified in Article 15.7 of this law (Article 15.8, paragraph (1)) within
thirty (30) days from the day of publication of mandate verification in the
Official Gazette of BiH, and
b) he/she
fails to submit a disclosure report (Article 15.8, paragraph (2)) within 30
days from the day on which the mandate to which he/she was elected has expired
as well as within 30 days from the day of mandate termination in case of
termination of the mandate in terms of Article 1.10, paragraph (1), points 1,
3, 5, 6 and 7 of this law.
Article 20.12a
Voting in the
diplomatic and consular representation offices of Bosnia and Herzegovina
referred to in Article 1.5 paragraph (2) of this Law, shall be held only in the
respective diplomatic and consular representation office of Bosnia and
Herzegovina for which the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and
Herzegovina, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and
Herzegovina finds that it meets the requirements provided by a separate
regulation referred to in Article 1.5, paragraph (3).”
