Some Bosnian towns have more voters than residents

Some Bosnian towns have more voters than residents

According to the Central Election Commission (CIK) of Bosnia-Herzegovina, in the municipality of Kozarska Dubica 23,696 citizens were eligible to vote in the last election, while preliminary data from the population census conducted in 2013 showes that the municipality has 23,074 inhabitants.

Similarly, in Krupa-on-Una, where, according to the CIK, there were 1,799 eligible voters, the census showed the total population to be 1,687.

Experts and civil group representatives agree that "something is wrong" with the census or the voter list - but their differ in their opinion on which data is accurate.

The Serb Republic (RS) Bureau of Statistics, which participated in the implementation of the last census, claim that only they have the right to carry out surveys that provide date on the actual number of people, and that the census results "can absolutely be trusted," the daily Nezavisne Novine writes.

But Vehid Šehić, from a coalition dubbed, "Under the Magnifying Glass," which brings together seven non-governmental organizations, says that "it is clear that in this case the census failed," and claims that the data it provided is incorrect.

According to him, only the central voter list is valid for elections, while "a discrepancy in the figures cannot affect the regularity of electoral process."

Šehić further pointed out that "one of the most important things that should be done concerning the general election is preventing electoral engineering - people registering in a municipality during elections, and afterwards returning to their actual place of residence."

The newspaper noted that RS Interior Minister Radislav Jovičić recently said "all legal options would be used in order to perform checks and prevent fictitious registration."

When the Constitutional Court of Bosnia declared invalid a decision regulating residence brought by RS authorities, the minister said that "once again, ahead of elections, there are attempts to introduce electoral engineering," and that the Ministry of Interior (MUP) of the Serb entity "has the right to carry out checks in this segment."

Maksida Pirić, a spokesperson for the Central Election Commission, said "passive registration of voters" has been ongoing since 2006, and that all those turning 18 and issued with an ID card in Bosnia are enrolled in the central voter register. According to her, it will be known by the end of August how many citizens are eligible to vote.