First out-of-country ballots arrive in Sarajevo

SARAJEVO, 17 October 2000 - The first batch of Out-of-Country (OCV) ballots have been delivered to the OSCE Mission in Sarajevo. Ten sacks of OCV ballots, which contained more than 2000 envelopes from around the world, were forwarded to the elections department from Vienna.

They are currently undergoing processing and verification at the OSCE under continued international supervision - political party and NGO representatives are welcome to observe this process. The ballots are cast for the upcoming elections by registered BiH citizens currently residing abroad. They will be counted after polling stations throughout BiH close on 11 November.

According to the Dayton Peace Accords, any BiH citizen of legal voting age, whose name appears on the 1991 census shall be eligible to vote, regardless of where that person currently resides. This is in line with OSCE policy of protecting the democratic right of citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina uprooted by the war in former Yugoslavia. Consequently, OSCE is providing by-mail election services for voters in more than 70 different countries around the world.

For more information please call OSCE Deputy Spokesperson Sanela T. Becirovic at 00 387 33 292 338 or 00 387 66134 758.

The OSCE established its present Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina on 18 December 1995. In accordance with the General Framework Agreement for Peace (GFAP), the OSCE Mission activities are to: promote Democratization and the building of a vibrant civil society, foster the development of professional journalism and monitor the rights of journalists, monitor and advance the Human Rights situation, supervise the conduct of Elections, and encourage Regional Stabilization through arms control and confidence and security-building measures. The OSCE Mission continues to work closely with other international organizations and local institutions to implement the Dayton Peace Accords.