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Integrity Scorecard

2009 Assessment

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Election Integrity
Indicators		Score
17	In law, is there an election monitoring agency or set of election monitoring agencies/entities?	100
18	Is the election monitoring agency effective?	60
19	Are elections systems transparent and effective?	92

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

In law, is there an election monitoring agency or set of election monitoring agencies/entities?

17: In law, is there an election monitoring agency or set of election monitoring agencies/entities?

Score:

YES

Comments: It is the Central Election Commission (CEC).

References: Election Law of BiH, Official Gazette of BiH No.23/01

Laws on Changes and Amendments to the Election Law of BiH, Official Gazette of BiH No.7/02, 9/02, 20/02, 4/04, 20/04, 25/05, 52/05, 77/05, 24/06

Correction of the Law on Changes and Amendments to the Election Law of BiH, Official Gazette of BiH No.25/02

Is the election monitoring agency effective?

18a: In law, the agency or set of agencies/entities is protected from political interference.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Election Law of BiH, Official Gazette of BiH No.23/01

Laws on Changes and Amendments to the Election Law of BiH, Official Gazette of BiH No.7/02, 9/02, 20/02, 4/04, 20/04, 25/05, 52/05, 77/05, 24/06

Correction of the Law on Changes and Amendments to the Election Law of BiH, Official Gazette of BiH No.25/02

18b: In practice, agency (or set of agencies/entities) appointments are made that support the independence of the agency.

Score:

100

Comments: According to the law, appointments to the Central Election Commission (CEC) should be based on professional qualifications, but the majority of CEC members have clear party loyalties.

References: Interview with several civil society organization representatives and experts, June 2009

Central Election Commission legalized the conflict of interests; TI BiH filed a new lawsuit. Press release Transparency International Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, Sept. 19, 2008

18c: In practice, the agency or set of agencies/entities has a professional, full-time staff.

Score:

100

Comments: The BiH Central Election Commission (CEC) still lacks the capacity to properly implement the Laws. Also, the integrity of CEC was compromised after it decided to suspend the implementation of the Law on Conflict of Interest at the entity and Brcko District administrative levels, for which CEC was legally in charge of at the time. This decision, coupled with delays and a selective approach in applying the law, only confirmed that the CEC has been under huge political pressure after the withdrawal of the international members from its ranks and considering that only politically suitable persons could be appointed as members by the BiH Parliamentary Assembly.

References: Website of the BiH Election Commission: [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: The agency appears to have a professional, full-time staff.

Peer Review Comments: Apart from the appointed Governing Board and Secretary General, the agency has 35 full-time civil servants (with graduate degrees) and 32 other full-time employed (who are undergraduates, or have a high-school level education).

Source: Central Electoral Commission Public Relations Unit

18d: In practice, the agency or set of agencies/entities makes timely, publicly available reports following an election cycle.

Score:

100

Comments: Central election commission issues regular reports, publicly available on a relatively predictable schedule. Some delays sometimes occur.

References: Official website of the Central Election Commission [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: Official website of the Central Election Commission. [ LINK ]

18e: In practice, when necessary, the agency or set of agencies/entities imposes penalties on offenders.

Score:

100

Comments: CEC can impose penalties itself. CEC imposed several penalties during local election 2008. In some of this cases, investigations were politically motivated. In some other cases CEC did not act even when there was a court decision to act.

References: TI Bosnia and Herzegovina Report: EC Progress Report Consultations with the European Commission 2009, June 2009

Freedom House: Nations in Transit 2009 Report on Bosnia and Herzegovina Released on June 30, 2009 [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: The agency imposes penalties on offenders, but its decisions are oftentimes politically motivated.

Peer Review Comments: In the recent past, the Central Election Commission (CEC) has seemingly tried to evade its legal competency with regard to establishing conflict of interest for elected officials - see "BiH Court accepted TI BiH complaint against Central Election Commission's conclusion of incompetency in the case of Nedzad Brankovic" (TI press release 01/15/09).

Are elections systems transparent and effective?

19a: In practice, there is a clear and transparent system of voter registration.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Freedom House: Nations in Transit 2009 Report on Bosnia and Herzegovina Released on June 30, 2009 [ LINK ]

2008 Human Rights Report: Bosnia and Herzegovina BUREAU OF DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND LABOR Released on Feb. 25, 2009 [ LINK ]

19b: In law, election results can be contested through the judicial system.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Election Law of BiH, Official Gazette of BiH No.23/01

Laws on Changes and Amendments to the Election Law of BiH, Official Gazette of BiH No.7/02, 9/02, 20/02, 4/04, 20/04, 25/05, 52/05, 77/05, 24/06

Correction of the Law on Changes and Amendments to the Election Law of BiH, Official Gazette of BiH No.25/02

19c: In practice, election results can be effectively appealed through the judicial system.

Score:

100

Comments: During the local election there were a lot of appeals on elections result. Courts solved all appeals within a reasonable time.

References: 2008 Human Rights Report: Bosnia and Herzegovina BUREAU OF DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND LABOR Released on Feb. 25, 2009 [ LINK ]

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 2008 PROGRESS REPORT, Brussels, Nov. 5, 2008 [ LINK ]

19d: In practice, the military and security forces remain neutral during elections.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Association of Election Officials BiH Conference: Local elections 2008 - lessons learned conference Opening Remarks by Ambassador Gary D. Robbins, Head of OSCE Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina April 23, 2009 [ LINK ]

OSCE Needs assessment report ahead of municipal elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina from Oct. 5, 2008 Released July 29, 2008 [ LINK ]

19e: In law, domestic and international election observers are allowed to monitor elections.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Election Law of BiH, Official Gazette of BiH No.23/01

Laws on Changes and Amendments to the Election Law of BiH, Official Gazette of BiH No.7/02, 9/02, 20/02, 4/04, 20/04, 25/05, 52/05, 77/05, 24/06

Correction of the Law on Changes and Amendments to the Election Law of BiH, Official Gazette of BiH No.25/02

19f: In practice, election observers are able to effectively monitor elections.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: Election observers have unfettered access to polling sites, counting stations, and voters themselves. The government does not interfere with the observers\' activities. <p>50 Score Criteria: Election observers generally have access to polling sites, counting stations, and voters but encounter restrictions in certain areas. The government may impose burdensome regulatory or bureaucratic requirements on observers to discourage their involvement. <p>0 Score Criteria: Election observers\' movements are significantly limited by the government and many polling and counting sites are restricted or barred from observers. The government imposes so many bureaucratic or regulatory burdens on the observers that their mission is rendered ineffective.$

Comments: "Election monitoring was conducted by NGO workers and roughly 20 Council of Europe observers invited by the BiH Central Election Commission (CEC). The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) sent only a modest monitoring team, stating that BiH had made sufficient progress on elections and should now be regarded as a well-organized democratic country." Freedom House: Nations in Transit 2009 Report on Bosnia and Herzegovina

OSCE Needs assessment report ahead of municipal elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 5 October 2008 Date: 29 July 2008 [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: Monitoring of elections goes on pretty much unimpeded.