The Central Election Commission (CEC) at yesterday’s session suspended four proceedings initiated following complaints by Transparency International in BiH against SDA, the Secure Srpska Movement, and SNSD for possible premature campaigning, abuse of public resources, and use of children for political purposes. The CEC’s decisions indicate a change in previous practice and a raising of the tolerance threshold for these phenomena, which were rigorously sanctioned in previous election cycles.
Thus, a series of SDA forums in Travnik held in elementary schools went unsanctioned, although these gatherings were problematic on several grounds, as TI BiH stated in its complaint. First and foremost, the cantonal Law on Primary Education prohibits political activity in elementary schools, meaning that such a facility could not have been made available to a party, while the Election Law prohibits the use of public institution premises for pre-election activities. Furthermore, parties are prohibited from holding pre-election forums during this period, and although this was a public forum for all citizens, the CEC concluded that there was no premature campaigning because SDA’s social media posts did not contain a call to vote.
The mere fact that the forums were open to citizens and that the posts use expressions such as “citizens’ voice in focus,” “open conversation with citizens,” “meetings with citizens,” or “citizens’ opinions heard” does not constitute electoral promotion. On the contrary, communication between political entities and citizens is an integral part of their regular political activity throughout their entire mandate, the CEC decision states.
Although the CEC does not have jurisdiction to sanction violations of laws regulating the operation of educational institutions, these prohibitions should have been an important circumstance in determining whether a public school was used for party promotion and whether this violated Article 7.2a of the Election Law, which prohibits abuse of public resources. It is also worth recalling the CEC statement from July 16, in which they warn political entities that the use of “premises, equipment, official vehicles, and other public resources for campaign purposes” is prohibited.
Call to Join Party Is Not Electoral Campaign
The CEC also unanimously suspended proceedings against the Secure Srpska Movement for the “Be in Motion” campaign conducted through billboards promoting the movement’s president, Draško Stanivuković. TI BiH reported that paid billboards were located at several locations even after the elections were called, which is clearly prohibited by the Election Law. The CEC accepted as a decisive factor the evidence that PSS “leased the advertising space before the elections were called” and that they “call for membership, not voting,” thereby opening a dangerous space for new abuses of this kind in future election cycles and conducting paid campaigns that are explicitly prohibited by law.
Bakalar Alone Saw Abuse in Party Promotion of Public Funds
The only disagreement among CEC members was caused by the complaint against the SNSD Municipal Board of Ugljevik. This party organization published content on social media stating that the Government of Republika Srpska will provide free textbooks worth approximately 16 million BAM for about 80,500 elementary school students.
Although this concerns a package of Government decisions and money from the public budget, the information was published on a party platform and presented as a result of SNSD policy. The same board also shared Milorad Dodik’s post about 4.5 million BAM approved for a new kindergarten in Ugljevik, with the message: “Our policy is clear and at its center are family, children, and creating conditions for a better quality of life in every part of Republika Srpska.”
Five CEC members supported the suspension of proceedings, while Željko Bakalar was the only one who voted against:
“I will vote against. I classify the publication on a party platform that the Government of Republika Srpska will provide 16 million BAM for 80,500 elementary school students in the 2026/2027 school year for free textbooks under provision 7.2a – abuse of public resources in terms of conducting a campaign, promoting a political entity, so I will vote against this conclusion.”
The CEC nevertheless concluded by majority vote that there was no abuse of public resources, because the post does not mention elections, and SNSD was certified for participation in the elections only a few hours after this post was shared on the party’s social media. Furthermore, in the decision voted by the majority of members, the CEC uses the party’s argumentation stating that this is RS Government policy implemented since “the 2007/2008 school year, which indicates that this is not a new promise made on the eve of elections but a continuation of existing policy.”
Thus, the use of the Government’s decision on the distribution of 16 million BAM on a party platform was not sufficient for the majority of CEC members to determine abuse of public resources.
Children as Proof That SNSD Did a “Great Thing”
The CEC also unanimously suspended the second proceeding against SNSD, initiated due to the opening of a children’s playground on July 7 within the Agricultural School grounds in the Banja Luka neighborhood of Rosulje.
Previously, promotional posters were distributed in Banja Luka neighborhoods, while SNSD officials Goran Maričić, Igor Dodik, Nikola Šobot, Željka Cvijanović, and Bogoljub Zeljković appeared at organized gatherings.
Candidate for representative, Igor Dodik, said on that occasion:
“Today we opened a playground, the sixth or seventh in a row, and it is truly a pleasure when we see smiles on the faces of so many children. We will not stop here but will continue with these actions.”
President of the SNSD City Board Goran Maričić stated that “a large number of citizens confirms that SNSD is right again,” while Bogoljub Zeljković used the presence of children as confirmation of party success:
“Here, as you can see, a large number of children proves that we did a great thing.”
TI BiH in this case reported possible premature campaigning and abuse of children for political purposes. However, neither the explicit mention of SNSD, nor the presentation of the playground as a result of party action, nor the use of children as confirmation of that success were sufficient for the CEC to issue a sanction.
Despite this practice, TI BiH will continue to collect evidence and report cases of premature campaigning, abuse of public resources, and other types of irregularities, calling on authorities to protect the integrity of the electoral process itself. Therefore, we call on all citizens to report all similar phenomena using the Reflektor application, which enables anonymous and secure submission of evidence of various forms of irregularities during and immediately before the pre-election campaign.
