Annulment of the Decision of the Central Election Commission to NSRZB is Unfounded

Banja Luka, 22^nd November 2012 – Transparency International Bosnia and Herzegovina (TI BiH) considers that the annulment of the decision of the Central Election Commission to sanction Narodna stranka radom za boljitak (People’s Party Work for Progress) is unfounded, and that the decision of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court BiH impedes the effective implementation of the Election Law and the Law on Financing of Political Parties.

Even though the CEC has established a clear connection between the campaigns of the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry and NSRZB, including nearly identical visual identity and slogan, and has sanctioned the political party with a monetary penalty in the amount of 10,000 KM, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court BiH considers that these campaigns are not connected. It has also been stated that the contract between the Ministry and the marketing agency was signed the day before the beginning of the election year. However, the campaign conducted by the Ministry, which has also promoted the vice president of  NSRZB, started and was carried out during the election year, and even before the beginning of the election campaign.

Furthermore, it has been stated in the decision of the Appellate Division that the CEC has made its decision based on the media reports, although TI BiH, which filed the report against this party, submitted signed contracts between the Ministry and S V – R.S.A Ltd. Sarajevo and Team System Ltd., and in addition the CEC was in possession of the complete documentation on the implementation of the campaign.

Despite the apparent violations of law and visible abuses, the decision of the Central Election Commission is annulled, which represents an additional blow on the trust in the judiciary and undermines consistency in law enforcement by the Central Election Commission.