Although the general elections for 2026 were announced on May 7, political parties and officials throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina are already running a premature election campaign and using public resources without the possibility of sanctions, warns Transparency International BiH.
As they point out, given that the deadlines for certification of political parties and independent candidates are June 6, and for coalitions June 23, the Central Election Commission of BiH does not have the legal possibility to impose sanctions before those dates, BHRT writes.
Transparency International BiH states that such a legal framework creates a “gray zone” in which political subjects can operate unhindered, and then avoid responsibility if they stop their activities until certification.
The director of Transparency International BiH, Ivana Korajlić, warns that this opens up space for abuses.
– That entire first period, from the announcement to the certification of political subjects, represents a gray zone in which everyone can do what they want and if they interrupt the day of certification, they can pass without any consequences. We have already seen a lot of campaigns by Draško Stanivuković, Vlado Đajić and others. who are now actually promoting their new movements, parties or whatever.”
Similar problems are noted by the “Under Scrutiny” Coalition, from which they state that the premature campaign is taking place despite the legal ban, but without sanctions.
Hasan Kamenjaković, the spokesman of the “Under Scrutiny” Coalition, believes that the new provisions of the BiH Election Law are meaningless in practice.
– The new provisions of the Electoral Law, which state that premature campaigning is prohibited from announcing elections, are becoming meaningless, because we are entering a situation where political entities during the ban on campaigning can conduct it and will not be sanctioned for it.”
Former member of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vehid Šehić, reminds that in previous elections, the CEC made exceptions and sanctioned certain cases before certifying candidacies, but that this is a legally sensitive issue.
– It is difficult to sanction someone until the certification of the political subjects who will participate in the elections, and it may happen that his application for participation in the elections is not certified, and then you have punished someone who did not participate in the elections.”
Political analyst Željko Raljić believes that in election years, the focus of political actors shifts from reforms to campaigns and public projects that have a pre-election character.
– The problem of the BiH Election Law is such that it cannot be changed in the pre-election period, but it will not be changed lightly and beyond that. Because the very ones who should change it, why should they change it, when they are fine with those loopholes in the law.”
The interlocutors conclude that the pre-election campaign in Bosnia and Herzegovina intensifies long before the official start, especially through the use of public resources and political promotion on the ground.
According to the current rules, the fines for illegal campaigns after verification amount to 3,000 to 30,000 KM for parties and coalitions, or from 3,000 to 15,000 KM for candidates, and the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina will be able to apply them only after June 6 and 23, respectively. Avaz.
