Press Releases

SARAJEVO, 19 March 2026 – At its session held today, the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted a first-instance decision selecting, as the most successful bidder in the public procurement procedure for the biometric voter identification and ballot paper scanning system, the group of tenderers consisting of “Smartmatic BiH d.o.o., Sarajevo”, as the lead member of the group, “Smartmatic International Holding B.V., Amsterdam”, and “DSC Agencija za zaštitu ljudi i imovine, Sarajevo”.

The tender submitted by this group fully satisfies all qualification requirements set out in the tender documentation. The contract will be awarded in the total amount of KM 74,527,455.84 excluding VAT, including a 10% discount.

By way of reminder, on 30 July 2025, the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted the Decision on the implementation of the multi-year project for the introduction of specific electoral technologies into the electoral process in Bosnia and Herzegovina, while on 9 October 2025 it also adopted the decision to launch the specific procurement procedure for the biometric voter identification and ballot paper scanning system. The public procurement procedure was initiated by the publication of the tender on 14 November 2025 through the Public Procurement Portal of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the appeals received led to an extension of the process, which was finalised on 3 February 2026. It is important to emphasise that the funds for the specific electoral technologies became operational only on 26 February 2026, following the signing of the Instruction by which the Deputy Minister of Finance and Treasury approved the transfer of previously allocated funds to the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Public Procurement Commission, appointed by the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina and composed of seven members and seven alternate members, conducted a detailed analysis of the tenders received in accordance with the criteria set out in the tender documentation and submitted a draft decision, which was adopted by a majority vote of the members of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina at today’s session. It was emphasised that this was an exceptionally complex procedure requiring a high level of expertise and a considerable amount of time.

In accordance with the applicable regulations, an appeal against this decision may be lodged with the Procurement Review Body of Bosnia and Herzegovina within 10 days of the date of its receipt.