SARAJEVO – The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CEC BiH) has decided to annul the early election for president of Republika Srpska in 17 electoral units (municipalities) covering 136 polling stations. By a majority vote, the Commission ruled that the vote at those polling stations will be repeated, N1 Sarajevo reported.
The decision to annul the vote at the specified polling stations was the seventh item on the agenda of today’s CEC session. The Commission said the decision was taken following complaints and established irregularities, including proven cases of manipulation such as the subtraction and addition of votes for candidates.
“Numerous irregularities were recorded during these early elections. In order to protect the integrity of the electoral process, it is necessary to annul the vote,” the CEC said.
The annulment applies to polling stations in Prijedor, Laktaši, Banja Luka, Doboj, Stanari, Zvornik, Vlasenica, Bratunac, Nevesinje, Gacko, Rudo, Bileća and Milići, as well as one polling station in the Brčko District. The highest number of annulments was recorded in Laktaši, Doboj and Bratunac.
A decision on scheduling repeat elections will be adopted once the annulment ruling becomes final.
Earlier, the CEC had confirmed preliminary results showing Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) candidate Siniša Karan defeating SDS candidate Branko Blanuša by a margin of 9,577 votes. According to reports, the difference at the 136 polling stations where the vote was annulled amounted to 15,822 votes.
Meanwhile, SNSD leader Milorad Dodik said in Banja Luka that the CEC’s decision undermines public confidence in the electoral process.
He accused the CEC of acting in coordination with the RS opposition, which, he said, had alleged electoral fraud from the outset, particularly in Doboj, Zvornik and Laktaši, and claimed that the Commission’s decisions were destabilizing Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Dodik also mentioned the Serbian member of the CEC, Vanja Bjelica Prutina, using an offensive term and accusing her of having worked from the beginning to call into question the legitimacy of the early presidential election held on November 23, and adding that the CEC’s decision most benefits the “Bosniak-Muslim political elite.”
