Press Releases

Beginning from today, after a trial period, the public in Bosnia and Herzegovina will be able to follow the sessions of the Central Election Commission of BiH via live streaming available on the Internet site www.izbori.ba. That is the result of co-operation between the Central Election Commission of BiH and the OSCE Mission to BiH. On that occasion, Ms Vanja Bjelica-Prutina, the President of CEC BiH, and Ambassador Kathleen Kavalec, Head of OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, gave the following media statements:

 

Ms Vanja Bjelica-Prutina, President of CEC BiH

“I have a great honour today, as the President of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to inform you that, thanks to the support of the OSCE Mission to BiH, the public has the opportunity to follow the sessions of the Central Election Commission of BiH LIVE via live streaming. The sessions of the Central Election Commission of BiH are public, and from today they are really going to be public in the strict sense of the word. That is especially important in the current situation when, on the one hand, there are measures pronounced by relevant authorities due to the COVID-19 epidemic and, on the other hand, CEC BiH conducts important activities which precede the announcement of elections in BiH. In this manner, we would like to increase the transparency of the work of CEC BiH and for the public to have a direct insight into the work of the Central Election Commission of BiH and all its decisions. I believe that it will be positively assessed by the general public and will position the Central Election Commission of BiH in its rightful place. I would especially like to thank Ambassador Kavalec and the OSCE Mission to BiH which has been a partner to the Central Election Commission of BiH in the implementation of specific projects, like many times before. I believe that our successful co-operation will continue. I would like to use this opportunity to inform you that the Central Election Commission of BiH has activated an official Twitter internet social media account at https://twitter.com/IZBORI_BA. Follow us and stay informed about the elections in BiH and the world.”

 

Ambassador Kathleen Kavalec, Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina

 

“Recognizing that the trust of citizens in democratic institutions in BiH is very low, the OSCE Mission to BiH continues to provide support to the efforts by the Central Election Commission to make its work more transparent and accessible to the public. By introducing the practice of live streaming the sessions of the Central Election Commission via the CEC’s YouTube channel, available through the web site of the Central Election Commission, the media and the public will be able to see the way in which one of the most important democratic institutions in BiH works and adopts its decisions. In this way, the Central Election Commission, with the support of the OSCE Mission to BiH, is implementing one of the very important recommendations of OSCE/ODIHR on opening the CEC sessions to the public and to the media. The OSCE Mission to BiH will continue to support the work of the Central Election Commission and to underpin the efforts of the election administration and of other institutions to be visible to the public, with the aim of achieving greater transparency.”