Election campaign has officially started in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Friday, a month prior to the general elections scheduled for October 2.

On June 6, Bosnia’s Council of Ministers adopted a draft budget and the decision to allocate 9.7 million marks (approx 4.9 million euro), initially intended for the Communications Regulatory Agency, for the purpose of covering the expenditures of the October votes.

The amount was insufficient, as noted by the Central Election Commission, so Christian Schmidt, the international peace envoy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, used his special powers and imposed a decision on the financing of the general elections, ensuring the necessary amount of 12.5 million marks (approx 6.3 million euros).

Suad Arnautovic, the Chairman of the Central Election Commission, called on all verified political entities to abide by law and lead a fair campaign, avoiding hate speech and discrimination.

Over 300 foreign observers will assess the conduct of the October 2 general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights said last week, announcing the beginning of the election observation mission.

Bosnia’s top electoral authority called the elections on May 4.