The Office of Bosnia’s international administrator said on Saturday that the country’s institutions are legally obliged to ensure adequate financing of elections and that it is “of crucial importance” that they fully cooperate with the country’s Central Election Commission (CEC) which postponed the 2020 local elections to November 15.
Elections were scheduled for October 4 but were moved to November 15 “to allow time for overcoming the challenges related to the financing of the organization of elections as well as challenges caused by COVID-19 pandemic,” the Office of the High Representative (OHR) said.
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“The OHR wishes to remind all relevant bodies, including the Council of Ministers, the Presidency, and the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina of their legal obligation to ensure adequate financing of the elections,” it said, adding that this would “enable the CEC to carry out all necessary preparations for the conduct and holding of local elections in a smooth and timely fashion with the aim to enable citizens” to exercise their guaranteed rights under the Constitution.
“It is of crucial importance that institutions on all levels fully cooperate with the CEC as is legally required to carry out this core democratic function in BiH,” it said.
The institution also pointed out that “any challenges concerning the appointment process of members to the CEC is solely the purview of the court, and thus all CEC members operate in full standing pending the court’s findings.”
