TI BiH warns of legal vacuum enabling premature campaigning ahead of 2026 elections

According to a statement, due to a legal provision stipulating that restrictions apply exclusively to “certified” political entities, the Central Election Commission (CEC) has not imposed fines for evident violations until the deadlines expire in June.

Rules of conduct during the election period are strictly defined by Chapter 7 of the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which prohibits premature campaigning, including organizing public rallies, distributing promotional materials, and paid advertising from the day elections are called until the election results are confirmed.

However, Article 1.1a of the same law defines that these prohibitions apply exclusively to political parties, independent candidates, and coalitions that are officially certified to participate. Since deadlines for certification of parties and independent candidates are set for June 6, 2026, and for coalitions, June 23, a legal vacuum has been created in which election rules are effectively not applied and violations cannot be sanctioned, TI BiH stated.

This legal gap and institutional delay are already being widely exploited by numerous politicians, they added, noting that billboards promoting newly formed parties and political movements, such as those of Dr Vlado Djajic and Drasko Stanivukovic, are visible across the country. TI BiH has reported these cases to the Central Election Commission (CEC) due to premature campaigning.

However, the CEC has ruled that these political entities are not subject to sanctions because they are not officially certified, which, according to TI BiH, has effectively rendered provisions banning premature campaigning meaningless.

TI BiH recalls that it has previously filed multiple reports against Vlado Djajic for various forms of premature campaigning and misuse of public resources for personal promotion. They state that he has continued practices previously associated with his time in Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), using gaps in election law to conduct unrestricted promotion.

At the same time, examples of the misuse of public events and institutions for personal promotion by officials during a prohibited period are being recorded. The SNSD municipal board in Foca, for example, stated on its official Facebook page that the “Municipality of Foca is the patron of the prom night,” alongside photos and text showing Mayor Milan Vukadinovic and Municipal Assembly President Nikola Vasiljevic, both from the party, greeting graduates and appropriating a public event for political promotion, TI BiH noted.

Similar practices are also taking place in the online space, where rules are openly violated through paid advertising. This is illustrated by Mirnes Ajanovic, a Tuzla City Council member and president of the BOSS party, who continues to publish and promote paid advertisements on Facebook despite legal bans on premature campaigning. Many of these ads are even labeled as political advertising by the platform itself.

Although such actions represent a serious violation of election conduct rules, punishable by fines ranging from 3,000 to 30,000 Bosnian marks (€1,500 to €15,000) for parties and coalitions, and from 3,000 to 15,000 marks for candidates, they remain unsanctioned because political entities have not yet been officially certified by the CEC.

In order to combat such practices and strengthen the integrity of the electoral process, Transparency International Bosnia and Herzegovina has launched a comprehensive monitoring process of pre-election activities of political actors, candidates, institutions, public officials, public companies, and their managers.

The monitoring includes field observation of events, media and online space tracking, as well as oversight of public spending during the election period. All identified irregularities will be documented and reported to competent institutions for action, in an effort to ensure that every violation is properly addressed and sanctioned.

TI BiH therefore calls on all participants in the electoral process, including political parties, candidates, public institutions, and officials, to respect the rules and legal provisions in order to ensure fair and honest elections with minimal abuse and practices that undermine citizens’ trust in the electoral process.