General Elections, 7 October 2018

Following an invitation from the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina and based on the findings and conclusions of the ODIHR Needs Assessment Mission, undertaken from 25 to 27 June 2018, ODIHR has deployed an Election Observation Mission (EOM) to the 7 October 2018 general elections.

The ODIHR EOM and the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina operate separately under their specific mandates.

Long-Term Observation

The ODIHR EOM, headed by Ambassador Peter Tejler, consists of 15 international experts based in Sarajevo. In addition, 22 long-term observers will be deployed throughout the country from 4 September.

The mission will assess these elections for their compliance with OSCE commitments and other international obligations and standards for democratic elections, as well as with national legislation. Observers will follow candidate registration, campaign activities, the work of the election administration and relevant state bodies, implementation of the legislative framework, and the resolution of election disputes. As part of the observation, the EOM will conduct a comprehensive monitoring of the media.

Election Day

ODIHR has requested participating States to second 300 short-term observers immediately prior to the 7 October elections. The short-term observers will be deployed throughout the country in multinational teams of two to monitor the opening of polling stations, the voting, the counting of ballots, and the tabulation of results.

The day after the elections, ODIHR, together with its parliamentary partners, will issue a statement of preliminary findings and conclusions at a press conference. A final report on the observation of the entire electoral process will be issued approximately eight weeks after the end of the observation mission.

Co-operation with Other Partners

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly are planning to deploy observer delegations for these elections.

Previous Elections

ODIHR has previously observed nine elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, most recently the 2014 general elections.