Bosnia election turnout at 11.94% by 11 a.m. amid tech glitches

The first turnout figures came as election officials reported problems with new voting technology at some polling stations, including ballot scanners, forcing several polling stations to temporarily close after voting had already begun.

CEC President Jovan Kalaba said at a press conference that some polling stations had failed to open on time on Sunday morning.

According to information received from municipal and city election commissions, there were also cases where polling stations opened but subsequently had to close because of technical problems.

"Some polling stations in Bosnia and Herzegovina did not open on time and, according to information from municipal election commissions, some opened and then closed due to problems with the new election technology, specifically ballot scanners. The problem is being resolved by replacing the scanners," Kalaba said.

More than 406,000 vote by 11 a.m.

A total of 406,847 voters had cast their ballots by 11 a.m., Kalaba said.

For comparison, turnout at the same point during the 2022 General Election stood at 15%.

"By 11 a.m., 406,847 voters had voted in Bosnia and Herzegovina. For comparison, at the same time in the 2022 General Election, 15% of voters had cast their ballots," Kalaba said.

Women accounted for 44.10% of those who had voted by 11 a.m., while men accounted for 55.90%.

Kalaba also highlighted the number of young people casting a ballot for the first time.

"We are pleased that by 11 a.m., 5,757 voters who had turned 18 had also voted for the first time," he said.

Voter verification takes around 35 seconds

Speaking about the performance of the new election technology, Kalaba said verifying a voter takes an average of around 35 seconds, from searching the system to printing the confirmation.

The CEC remains in constant contact with election officials across the country, he added.

"Voter verification takes around 35 seconds on average, from the search to printing the confirmation. We are in continuous communication with the election administration in the field. There are problems with the operation of devices and the identification of a small number of voters, mainly those with newly issued identity cards," Kalaba said.

Sunday’s General Election is the first in Bosnia and Herzegovina to make widespread use of new election technologies, including biometric voter identification and ballot scanners.

Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. and are scheduled to close at 7 p.m. At polling stations where voting began late, opening hours may be extended by the length of the delay.

Voters are electing the three members of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Presidency, representatives to the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the House of Representatives of the Federation parliament, the president and vice presidents of Republika Srpska, members of the Republika Srpska National Assembly and representatives to the cantonal assemblies in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.