The monitoring of the local elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Sunday was seriously impeded by the circumstances marked by the epidemic of COVID-19 and this disease also claimed the life of a mayoral candidate in the central town of Travnik.

The Bosniak Party of Democratic Action (SDA) reported today that its mayoral candidate in Travnik, doctor Mirsad Peco, 62, died in the local hospital from the complications of COVID-19.

The pandemic caused problems for political parties’ monitors and they were barred from following the course at polling stations in Banja Luka and Doboj.

This is why the opposition SDS and PDP parties in the Serb entity accused the ruling SNSD of preventing their monitors to have access to some of the polling stations in those two cities.

The embassies of the USA and Great Britain and the Office of the international community's High Representative (OHR) issued press statements warning about this problem.