Newsroom
OSCE introduces new voter registration system in Bosnia and Herzegovina municipalities
SARAJEVO 6 November 2001
SARAJEVO, 6 November 2001 - The OSCE is in the process of introducing in Bosnia and Herzegovina a new system of voter registration to representatives of all of the country's 145 municipalities.
The process of voter registration is still administered by the OSCE Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and its hand-over represents one of the crucial areas in the transfer of the electoral machinery to the country's institutions. In line with the provisions of the election law, the new system will enable the municipal election commissions to administer the voter registration process without the need to rely on OSCE's financial and logistical resources, and deal directly with the Central Election Commission which is to be formed.
Whilst paying a visit to one of the training sessions for municipal election commissions and registration officers, the Head of the OSCE Mission, Robert M. Beecroft, stressed the need for the national authorities to speed up election preparations. "Elections are scheduled for less than one year from now. It is the responsibility of the Government to make elections happen and to make them happen in time. They have now seriously to take ownership of the whole process," he said.
OSCE staff will continue to train the municipal election commissions and registration officers throughout November. The new system should be fully operational in all of the country's municipalities by the beginning of December and will then be handed over to them. This new mechanism will enable the authorities to ensure an efficient voter registration in the elections to come.
The process of voter registration is still administered by the OSCE Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and its hand-over represents one of the crucial areas in the transfer of the electoral machinery to the country's institutions. In line with the provisions of the election law, the new system will enable the municipal election commissions to administer the voter registration process without the need to rely on OSCE's financial and logistical resources, and deal directly with the Central Election Commission which is to be formed.
Whilst paying a visit to one of the training sessions for municipal election commissions and registration officers, the Head of the OSCE Mission, Robert M. Beecroft, stressed the need for the national authorities to speed up election preparations. "Elections are scheduled for less than one year from now. It is the responsibility of the Government to make elections happen and to make them happen in time. They have now seriously to take ownership of the whole process," he said.
OSCE staff will continue to train the municipal election commissions and registration officers throughout November. The new system should be fully operational in all of the country's municipalities by the beginning of December and will then be handed over to them. This new mechanism will enable the authorities to ensure an efficient voter registration in the elections to come.