The OSCE Mission to Bosnia welcomes recent efforts of Bosnia's Prosecutor's Office the Prosecutor of the Brcko District in the processing of cases of alleged election fraud, said Kathleen Kavalec, Head of OSCE Mission in the country.

“Combating election fraud is a key component in protecting the integrity and credibility of elections. This is necessary to restore trust and to allow the will of the people to be properly represented, as also indicated in all previous election monitoring reports issued by the OSCE Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

The Prosecutor's Office ordered the raid of four locations in the north-western town of Sanski Most where the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), Bosnia's special police, found and seized cellphones, computers, dictaphone cassettes, USB drives and other memory devices.

On that occasion, the police detained Asim Kamber, a member of the strongest Bosniak party, the Democratic Action Party (SDA) who serves as an MP if Bosnia's Bosniak-Croat shared Federation (FBIH) parliament, his associate Fazir Vukalic and the SDA Municipal Board office manager in Sanski Most Murela Husic, who were handed over to the Prosecution after questioning. These individuals are being brought into connection with the 2018 general election.

“Moving forward, the Mission calls on relevant authorities, including the Central Election Commission and law enforcement bodies across the country, to be proactive in handling complaints and investigating suspected electoral offences. The Mission calls on the leadership of political parties to implement policies to prevent any election fraud from within their ranks,” Kavalec said in her statement.

She added that the Mission stands ready to support any process that improves the electoral integrity and restores the trust of citizens in elections.