POSSIBLE MANIPULATION WITH SCANNERS

SARAJEVO, SEPTEMBER 16 /SRNA/ - Although the introduction of new electoral technologies in BiH was presented as a way to make elections more reliable and transparent, as well as to prevent manipulation, the pilot program showed that scanners could potentially be manipulated, it was said at a roundtable in Sarajevo today on building trust in elections through technology.

Tihana Blank of Civic Hub US, an organisation focused on applying international principles to elections, said that during the 2025 pilot program, it was observed that scanners could be manipulated, but that there are known ways to prevent this. To prevent possible manipulation, she said, additional security systems are still being put in place. "Technology in itself contributes, but it does not build trust. Preparation builds trust. New voting and results-processing technology gains public trust only when it has been tested, explained and made open to oversight, both before and after election day," Blank said. Emphasising that the most important thing is for the technology to function properly, Blank said that it is important to deliver results quickly and to be able to compare the results obtained through the new technologies with those obtained through manual voting. Irena Hadžiabdić, a member of the Central Election Commission /CEC/ of BiH, stressed that the level of trust in elections depends on how clear and understandable the process is. "Technology can help us act more quickly and report more clearly, but none of that matters if voters, observers and the media do not understand how the technology works and why it was chosen," Hadžiabdić said. She stressed that the new electoral technologies were not introduced overnight or without oversight. "We tested these systems through earlier pilot projects, and then took a more thorough approach to preparing for these elections. We trained our officials, introduced new neutral positions, and developed a system of technical support and training through different models, because a system is only as good as the person or team operating it on election day," Hadžiabdić added. According to her, every decision made by the CEC when introducing the new electoral technologies was aimed at making the electoral process more reliable for voters in BiH. The roundtable titled Elections 2026: Best Practices for Building Trust through Technology was organised by Civic Hub US in partnership with the CEC of BiH and brought together representatives of municipal election commissions that had tested the new technologies, as well as representatives of domestic and international institutions, election observers, and media representatives.