ROGIĆ: CEC FAILED TO APPLY EQUAL STANDARDS

SARAJEVO, DECEMBER 24 /SRNA/ – Member of the Central Election Commission of BiH /CEC/ Vlado Rogić has said today that, in adopting the decision to annul the early elections for the President of Republika Srpska at 136 polling stations, the CEC acted unequally toward political actors, stressing that while identifying electoral irregularities is necessary, it must be done equally for all.

Rogić, who joined the CEC session by phone toward the end of today's meeting, reminded that on the day of the early elections only five complaints were filed in the field, while the CEC reviewed a total of 13 complaints on the basis of which no major objections were found. "After the elections concluded, certain political actors and media outlets began to problematize the elections, presenting a large number of allegedly disputed votes, and that is where the problem arose. Instead of acting in accordance with the Election Law and the Law on Administrative Procedure, the CEC, under pressure from that public narrative, appeared to be waiting for additional complaints," Rogić stressed. He noted that the CEC only recounted ballots in electoral units that were targeted through media reports, adding that results obtained in such a manner can neither be properly established nor confirmed. Rogić also believes that in this case the CEC did not treat all political actors equally, emphasizing that ballot bags were opened only at polling stations and in electoral units where the first-ranked candidate won, while other polling stations and electoral units where the second-ranked candidate prevailed were left undisputed, as if no irregularities had occurred there. "The candidate who won the highest number of votes was required to have every ballot and voter signature be perfect, while the other candidate's result was considered absolutely accurate without any need for verification," Rogić said.