Sarajevo, 27.12.2023 – In accordance with the conclusion of the 14th session of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina held on December 21, 2023 the BiH CEC has today met with representatives of political party caucuses in the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH (with MPs and delegates) in order to present proposals for changes to the electoral legislation and proposals for the adoption of the electoral process integrity package (introduction of new technologies in electoral process) and election disputes resolution - suggestions for improvement.
The need for urgent changes to the Election Law of BiH, which would include new provisions regarding the introduction of new election technologies in the electoral process in BiH (verification and authentication of voters, devices in the voting process, fast transmission of results, etc.) was underlined during the meeting.
It was also pointed out that new solutions in the field of digitization of the electoral process, in addition to ensuring the legislative and legal framework, require significant financial resources and trained personnel in the field of IT technologies, market research, public procurement, appointment of an independent external audit that will control and supervise suppliers of equipment and services, recruitment, training and certification of personnel, ensuring the security of the system and its resistance to cyberattacks, adequate training of members of polling station committees and election commissions, as well as mandatory testing of equipment through the Pilot project.
The need to ensure a high level of interoperability and professional cooperation of several state institutions, as well as the formation of a coordinating body to monitor the entire process, and a state team to respond to possible computer incidents was also emphasized during the meeting.