Foreign embassies and international organisations in Bosnia and Herzegovina have expressed support to the central electoral authority to investigate the allegations of election irregularities in the race for the post of Republika Srpska President and the plan for the election recount.

The embassies of the US, UK, as well as the EU Delegation and the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina issued a joint statement, welcoming the decision of the Central Election Commission to conduct the investigation into “credible reports of electoral irregularities” in Bosnia’s Serb-majority region and to “swiftly conduct a full recount.”

The Central Election Commission’s decision came after the opposition in this part of Bosnia and Herzegovina reported irregularities following the October 2 general elections.

The opposition also gathered thousands of citizens in two protests in Banja Luka, the region’s administrative centre, to raise the voice against alleged electoral fraud,

“Free and fair elections are the bedrock of every democracy. Electoral fraud is a direct attack on the fabric of democratic society,” the foreign offices said in the statement.

🇺🇸 🇪🇺 🇬🇧 and the OSCE Mission to BiH welcome @Izbori_ba decision yesterday to investigate credible reports of electoral irregularities in the Republika Srpska Presidency race and to swiftly conduct a full recount. 🧵(1/3)@JulianReillyUK @eubih @OSCEBiH

— US Embassy Sarajevo (@USEmbassySJJ) October 11, 2022

They expressed support to the Central Election Commission and their authority “to take any additional accountability measures to ensure the integrity and transparency of the elections.”

“We urge all parties to respect the legal process as the Central Election Commission completes the recount,” the statement added.