The President of the European People’s Party (EPP) Joseph Daul commented on the general election held in Bosnia in October, saying he was deeply concerned about observed undemocratic practices by some political actors in the process. The preliminary findings of the International Election Observation Mission led by OSCE are alarming, he added.
“To hold free and fair elections, voters must not be pressured nor influenced, and the media must be independent,” Daul said.
“Political pressure on pensioners, intimidation of public sector workers, vote buying, the obstacles to the diaspora voting and irregularities with postal voting and the high number of invalid votes are incompatible with democratic standards,” he added.
His statement came following the decision of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina to announce the final results of the October 7 general election. Right after the election, many international and local NGO observers reported countless cases of alleged election fraud.
Transparency International even filed criminal charges against Milorad Dodik, the newly elected Serb Presidency member, for threatening workers they would get sacked unless they voted for his party, the nationalist Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), at an election rally.
Despite EPP’s efforts, no compromise on the necessary electoral law reform could be found, Daul said.
“The political actors must now all come together and put the will and interests of the people above personal and political interests. This must be done to facilitate free and fair elections in the future,” he said.
Daul added that Bosnia cannot move forward, nor carry out reforms without functioning governing bodies.
“I expect all political leaders to come together and work constructively to form governments at all levels,” he said, adding that the purpose of the reforms was the protection of the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as its people.
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