New election technology arrives amid political division and unresolved voting-rights concerns
Bosnia and Herzegovina is approaching its 4 October general elections with new biometric identification and ballot-scanning systems, but delayed equipment deliveries, limited preparation time and long-standing discriminatory candidacy rules are raising concerns for international observers.
The election will determine state, entity and cantonal institutions through six separate contests. Some 3.4 million people are registered to vote, while the Central Election Commission has approved 7,028 candidates nominated by 82 political groups, alongside four independent candidates.
An interim report from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, known as ODIHR, acknowledges improvements in election administration while identifying risks that remain unresolved as polling day approaches.
The findings cover developments between 20 August and 16 September. They are not a final assessment of the election, but they provide an important measure of institutional readiness and the conditions in which voters are being asked to make their choices.
Technology promises stronger safeguards
For the first time, biometric voter-identification devices and ballot scanners are expected to be used across the country. The reform is intended to reduce opportunities for impersonation, strengthen ballot processing and improve confidence in the results.
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Central Election Commission has planned for approximately 6,000 identification devices and 6,000 ballot scanners. The technology follows smaller pilot projects during the 2024 local elections, when The European Times reported on ODIHR’s earlier observation work in the country.
The nationwide rollout could represent a substantial improvement in electoral integrity. However, ODIHR found that procurement disputes, funding delays and dependence on a private supplier had sharply compressed the implementation schedule.
As of 16 September, a significant share of the required devices had not reached the Central Election Commission. That left less time for configuration, security checks, staff training and public education.
A nationwide simulation held on 11 September indicated that biometric identification generally functioned well. Observers nevertheless reported difficulties involving the delivery of materials, the operation of some equipment and voters’ understanding of the new procedures. Fourteen municipalities were unable to participate because they lacked ballots.
The redesigned ballot presents another challenge. To make automated scanning possible, the commission replaced candidates’ names with numbers. The change may simplify machine processing, but it increases the importance of clear instructions, particularly for older voters and people with limited digital experience.
Discrimination remains embedded
The technological reforms do not resolve the most fundamental weakness in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s electoral system: constitutional restrictions based on ethnicity and residence.
Only citizens who identify as Bosniak, Croat or Serb may seek certain senior offices, including seats in the tripartite state presidency. Citizens identifying as Roma, Jewish, members of other minorities or simply as ��Others” remain excluded from standing for those positions.
Residence also determines which presidential candidates a citizen may support. Voters registered in Republika Srpska may vote only for the Serb member of the presidency, while voters in the Federation may choose between Bosniak and Croat candidates.
These restrictions persist despite judgments from the European Court of Human Rights and repeated ODIHR recommendations. A working group was established in 2025 to prepare constitutional and electoral changes, but no amendments had been adopted by the reporting period.
The result is an electoral system that can be administered more securely while still denying equal political participation to some citizens. Better ballot technology cannot by itself correct unequal eligibility rules.
Polarisation shapes the campaign
ODIHR describes a visible but deeply divided campaign, with parties largely addressing their respective ethnic communities. The political atmosphere has also been affected by disputes following the death of Ratko Mladić, who was convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Online campaigning reflects the same divisions. Anonymous news websites, coordinated clickbait networks and AI-generated material are playing a growing role, while no state authority has an explicit mandate to maintain systematic communication with major technology platforms about election-related threats.
The Central Election Commission received 534 complaints and notifications by the report’s cut-off date. Most concerned campaigning before the official period or the possible misuse of public resources. It imposed sanctions totalling 438,000 convertible marks, approximately €224,000, against 26 parties and 20 candidates.
ODIHR also noted that several public authorities increased salaries, pensions, social benefits or one-off payments during the campaign. Such spending is not automatically an electoral violation, but it can blur the boundary between ordinary government policy and the use of public resources for political advantage.
Women present but underrepresented
Women account for 2,977 of the registered candidates, reflecting the legal requirement that at least 40 per cent of each candidate list be female. Their presence on ballot papers has not translated into equal political power.
Women hold only 21 per cent of seats in the state parliament. Their representation stands at 33 per cent in the Federation parliament and 28 per cent in the Republika Srpska legislature. Only 23.5 per cent of ministers in the two entity governments are women.
The contrast illustrates the limits of candidate quotas when party placement, campaign visibility and access to senior positions remain unequal.
International mission expands
The ODIHR election observation mission includes a 13-member expert team in Sarajevo and 26 long-term observers deployed across the country. ODIHR has also requested 300 short-term observers to monitor polling-station openings, voting, counting and the tabulation of results.
Delegations from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the Council of Europe, NATO Parliamentary Assembly and European Parliament are expected to join the international effort. Preliminary conclusions are scheduled for publication the day after the election.
Bosnia and Herzegovina has made meaningful investments in election integrity, and ODIHR found that the Central Election Commission had conducted public sessions and met most legal deadlines. Yet the approaching vote also exposes a broader democratic tension: institutions are modernising the machinery of elections faster than political leaders are addressing unequal rights, public mistrust and ethnic division.
The credibility of the 4 October vote will therefore depend on more than whether the new scanners work. It will also depend on transparent administration, equal treatment, meaningful observation and whether citizens can make informed choices without public institutions being used to tilt the campaign.
