Transparency International Bosnia calls for investigation into alleged election fraud in Republika Srpska

In a statement issued on Wednesday, TI BiH said the CEC’s decision to annul early presidential elections in RS at 136 polling stations revealed “scandalous information” about large-scale identity theft and ballot manipulation involving voters who did not participate in the election.

“The CEC annulled the early election for president of Republika Srpska at 136 polling stations and presented shocking evidence of mass identity abuse and the falsification of votes in the names of citizens who did not turn out to vote,” TI BiH said.

According to the organization, investigations at the contested polling stations uncovered forged voter signatures, many of which were described in the CEC decision as obvious falsifications “that even a layperson could recognize.” In several cases, the same individuals were found to have signed voter lists two or more times.

CEC officials said that a more detailed forensic analysis would require significantly more time. TI BiH noted, however, that similar patterns of large-scale vote theft had already been established in previous election cycles through multiple court rulings, including testimonies from voters who confirmed they had not voted despite their identities being used.

TI BiH previously published an analysis comparing turnout figures with vote distribution, which showed a disproportionately high share of votes for candidates from the ruling coalition at polling stations reporting unusually high turnout.

Additional analysis of turnout intervals, based on supplementary CEC data, found that at some polling stations one vote was recorded every 53 seconds - a pattern TI BiH described as statistically implausible.

“These statistical indicators required further investigation and the collection of concrete evidence,” TI BiH said, adding that the CEC carried out an extensive process to establish violations of electoral law, including graphological examinations at 270 polling stations.

During that process, investigators identified more than 2,000 voters who appeared on voter lists as having signed in and voted despite not possessing any valid identification documents. For such individuals, Bosnia’s ID agency (IDDEEA) was unable to provide signature samples for forensic comparison, officials said.

TI BiH also warned that outdated voter registers continue to create significant opportunities for electoral manipulation, as they include large numbers of citizens who have emigrated from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Despite these issues, election observers and polling station committees filed only 13 formal objections during the voting process, a fact TI BiH said raises additional concerns.

The organization further noted that previous court cases monitored by TI BiH revealed instances where observers testified they had seen no irregularities, even though courts later established that votes had been systematically added in the names of voters who did not vote - including deceased persons who had not been removed from voter lists.

“These findings once again underline the urgent need to introduce election technologies for voter identification and vote counting,” TI BiH said, warning that a large number of citizens have lost trust in the integrity of the current electoral process.

The CEC has not yet commented on TI BiH’s call for judicial action.