Press Releases

Sarajevo, 11 September 2026 – Today, the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina organized mock elections as a preparatory activity within the meaning of Article 20.16e, paragraph (2) of the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina, for the purpose of comprehensively testing the functionality, integrity, security, reliability and applicability of specific election technologies under conditions of a simulated electoral process.

The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina is satisfied with the initial indicators of the mock elections, particularly with regard to the functioning of the system for monitoring and reporting on voter identification and authentication, as well as the secure transmission of election results from the polling station to the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

A total of 6,854 voters voted in the mock elections. Voter verification by fingerprint was 97.37% successful.

Transmission of election results to the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina after the closing of the polling station was completed, on average, within 5–10 minutes, while the tested cybersecurity and digital forensic readiness of the election information technology system demonstrated a high level of security and readiness.

The system for monitoring activities at the polling station in real time provides data on voter turnout, including precise information on the method of voter verification, the number of voters voting for the first time, the number of voters who were verified without providing a fingerprint, as well as information on the type of identification document used to identify the voter (identity card, driving licence or passport).

At the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina, activities at the polling stations were monitored in real time throughout the entire duration of the mock elections.

Due to the untimely delivery of test ballot papers, mock elections were not conducted in 14 out of 143 municipalities/cities. The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina will consider whether the mock elections will subsequently be conducted in the municipalities/cities where they were not conducted today and will adopt an appropriate decision.

The conclusion is that a deficiency was identified in the transportation and delivery of election material, while the functionality of the devices at the polling stations and of the system as a whole was at a satisfactory level.

The final Report on the conduct of mock elections, which will be prepared in the coming days, will demonstrate the functioning of the selected election technologies in their interconnection and interaction with election procedures, participants in the electoral process and other relevant systems, while simultaneously verifying the fulfilment of the technical conditions for their application in the electoral process, including the organization of distribution and transportation of equipment and election material for the General Elections scheduled for 4 October 2026.

The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina would particularly like to thank the municipal/city election commissions for their dedication and demonstrated responsibility in ensuring that these mock elections were conducted despite the limited time available for their organization.

We would also like to thank the voters for their patience and participation in the mock elections.