The Central Election Commission of BiH (CEC) has fined the Mayor of Laktaši, Miroslav Bojić, for misusing public resources during the election campaign by organizing a party gathering at the opening of infrastructure works financed from the city budget.
The fine for Bojić, who was also a candidate for the National Assembly of RS, came after a complaint filed by Transparency International in BiH regarding the opening of public works in the local community of Slatina. TI BiH submitted photographs of the controversial event to the CEC, along with a poster inviting citizens to the pre-election gathering, which featured the coat of arms of the City of Laktaši, the local community, and SNSD.
The gathering was held on September 6 this year at the height of the election campaign, and besides Bojić, SNSD candidates for BiH Presidency member, BH Parliament, and RS National Assembly were also present.
In his statement, Miroslav Bojić claimed that the mentioned gathering, which was presented as a “celebration of the completion of infrastructure works,” was organized by SNSD and had nothing to do with city administration activities, which only allowed SNSD to use the public space for the gathering.
However, the CEC concludes in its decision that this is precisely what’s controversial, and that Bojić misused public resources for personal use and party promotion by allowing the infrastructure works opening event, which should have been presented as a city activity where he serves as mayor, to be presented as a party activity.
–The content of the invitation itself is controversial and punishable under the BiH Election Law because it misused an event that should have been presented as the completion of infrastructure works in the Slatina local community and as such should have been presented as an activity of the city itself and for the benefit of all Slatina citizens. By placing the SNSD coat of arms alongside the City of Laktaši and Slatina local community coats of arms on the controversial invitation, it unambiguously sends a message that this activity was presented and organized as an SNSD activity, which the candidate himself states in his invitation. The mayor misused his position by allowing the party he belongs to and represents as a candidate to present this event and city activity as a political party event,
states the CEC decision.
As a result, SNSD was fined 3,500 KM, and Miroslav Bojić, as the candidate who won the mandate, was fined the same amount.
This event is just one example of blatant misuse of public resources during the election campaign, but due to poor legislation, many such cases go unpunished. During the monitoring of pre-election activities, TI BiH recorded over 390 public works that were completed and promoted during the pre-election period, with their value amounting to 284 million KM. Opening infrastructure facilities before elections is one of the most common patterns of behavior by parties and candidates during campaigns, but BiH has no restrictions on public spending before elections.
The latest amendments to the election law prohibit the misuse of public events for promoting political entities, but without clear evidence such as the poster inviting citizens to the gathering in this case, such occurrences are difficult to prove.
