Bosnia’s Election Commission borrows funding to hold elections

Bosnia’s Election Commission borrows funding to hold elections

Web Desk
June 7, 2022

Bosnia’s Election Commission borrows funding to hold elections

A month after the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced October 2 as the date for general elections.
It has acquired a loan of five million euros to organize the polls — but it may not be enough.

The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina said on Monday, more than a month after announcing that a general election will be conducted in October, that it had managed to borrow the funds required for the process.

According to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s election law, state institutions must give finances for elections within 15 days after their announcement, however that time expired on May 19.

The country’s Council of Ministers has now resolved to borrow 9.7 million Bosnian marks (about five million euros) from the Regulatory Agency on Communications and transfer the funds to the Central Election Commission.

“Today, the Council of Ministers unanimously adopted a decision on the use of part of the funds from the licenses for the use of radio frequency spectrum services through mobile access systems, and these funds are intended for the CEC to finance the general elections,” Bosnia’s Finance Minister Vjekoslav Bevanda told media.

However, it remains unclear how the Commission would obtain the remaining funds required to organize the general election.

The Council of Ministers was initially asked to allocate 12.5 million Bosnian marks (about 6.5 million euros) to support the 2022 elections, but Bevanda, who represents the Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ party, rejected the decision.

He rationalized the decision by claiming that a special allotment of cash “is not in accordance with the law, and the budget must be voted on in a regular procedure,” which would take significantly longer and call into question whether the elections could be held on time.

At a meeting of the Council of Ministers on Monday, Bevanda thwarted another attempt to get these monies.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has not had a state-level budget approved since 2020 due to political bickering, and the government has been operating on special allocations of monies that are voted on every three months.

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