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SARAJEVO, August 31 (FENA) - Citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina in this year’s general elections to be held in October will be using transparent ballot boxes for the first time instead of the previous metal boxes.
The Central Election Commission of BiH purchased 10,000 new ballot boxes with 60,000 security stamps which will distributed to all the polling stations in BiH.
Since there are about 5,500 polling stations in the country, the rest of the boxes will be distributed partly as reserves to municipal election commissions, and part will be deposited in the Central Election Commission’s storage.
The see through t boxes will contribute to greater transparency of the electoral process, i.e. restoring citizens' confidence in the process, which, together with other factors, should contribute to the strengthening of general level of democracy.
This was stated today at a press conference of the Central Election Commission in Sarajevo where the Memorandum of Understanding with the OSCE was signed, because this international organization, together with the embassies of the United States of America, Great Britain and Norway, donated the money for the purchase of the new boxes.
The OSCE Ambassador to BiH Bruce Berton, a signatory of the Memorandum together with CEC President Irena Hadžiabdić, stressed the essential importance of free and fair elections for any democratic society. This importance, he pointed out, is something that should be stressed every day.
“In June 1990, the OSCE member states stated the following: "The will of the people, expressed freely and truthfully, through the periodic holding of truly honest elections, is the basis of the authority and legitimacy of the authorities." As a member state of the OSCE, Bosnia and Herzegovina has pledged to honor this statement,” said Berton.
Effective democracy, in his words, implies that the public must have confidence in the election process. Only with the restoration of confidence, it is possible to have elections as an actual reflection of the will of the citizens and preserve the engagement of the civil society.
Berton said that the fact that the current state of democracy in BiH is not perfect cannot be ignored and that a large number of citizens have no confidence in the election process, which leads to their weak turnout in the elections.
He expressed satisfaction, together with representatives of the embassies of the countries who attended the press conference, that the OSCE and the governments of these countries showed understanding by granting financial support for the purchase of the new ballot boxes in BiH.
Chargé d'affaires of the UK Embassy in BiH, Ruth Wiseman expressed hope that the turnout of the BiH voters in the October elections will be larger than ever before, while Ambassador of Norway Guri Rusten said that transparent ballot boxes will contribute to preventing electoral theft during the electoral process.
The US Ambassador to BiH Maureen Cormack believes that 2018 is an important year for citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina who, as voters, should believe in the transparency of the electoral process.
The boxes are actually semi-transparent, which contributes to secrecy, as well as the ability of election observers to ensure that no ballot, other than a legitimate one, is placed in it, said Cormack, adding that the United States Government would continue to support the improvement of the electoral process in BiH.
The CEC BiH President Irena Hadžiabdić thanked the OSCE and stressed that the signed memorandum actually represents formalizing of the long-standing cooperation and support.
Hadžiabdić also thanked the governments of the United States, Great Britain and Norway for their financial support in the procurement of new ballot boxes.
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(FENA) S. R.
