Funds for conduct of the 2022 General Elections must be secured by May 19
Sarajevo, May 18, 2022 – The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina welcomes the holding of a telephone session of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina regarding the decision to secure funding for the 2022 General Elections. However, the Central Election Commission of BiH, taking into account the clearly prescribed deadlines and explicit obligations of BiH institutions, cannot be satisfied with the outcome of yesterday's telephone session of the BiH Council of Ministers.
We would like to remind the public that the provisions of Article 1.2a of the Election Law of BiH imperatively prescribe that the competent institutions must provide funds for the conduct of elections within 15 days from the day elections were announced, i.e. in this case by May 19. The Central Election Commission of BiH has in line with the instructions of the Ministry of Finance and Treasury of BiH of January 14, 2022, and the norms and procedures prescribed by the Law on Financing of Institutions of BiH, sent to the Council of Ministers of BiH a proposal for a special decision on the allocation of funds from the Budget of institutions and international obligations of BiH in the total amount of 12.528.000 KM.
The importance of holding free elections must be recognized by all institutions and authorities, which are obliged, within their competence, to enable the conduct of elections. Financial resources are already necessary for the Central Election Commission of BiH to carry out all legally prescribed election-related actions and activities without any hindrance. Failure to provide funds within the legally prescribed deadline has already produced certain consequences that could jeopardize the election process. Some of these are decision to be taken by the BiH CEC tomorrow on annulment of already conducted public procurement procedures, sending requests to the competent institutions in BiH to provide to the BiH CEC a certain number of employees, introduction of overtime work, work on non-working days, night work and work on public holidays, and due to the impossibility to, as always, hire additional staff to work in the Secretariat of the Central Election Commission of BiH.
The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina once again calls on decision-makers in Bosnia and Herzegovina to fulfill their legal obligation and provide financial resources for the conduct of the 2022 General Elections within the legal deadline.
Appreciating the importance of the election process and the fact that elections are a fundamental pillar of democracy, we express hope and expectations that the competent institutions will show responsibility, seriousness and respect for the BiH Election Law, and that they will allocate funds in the total amount of 12.528.000 to the BiH Central Election Commission.