5.9 E-participation
Address:
Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Department of Education, Mobility and Youth Unit
Trg BiH 3, 71 000 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Tel: +387 33 492 623, +387 33 492 606, +387 33 492 519
E-mail: kemal.salic@mcp.gov.ba
Website: www.mcp.gov.ba
The Central Election Commission of BiH, in partnership with UNFPA, has developed and updated a Viber chatbot for elections (used in 2020, 2022, and again in 2024). This tool is designed to inform voters, particularly first-time youth voters, about election processes, providing real-time guidance and support via a familiar messaging platform.
During the 2024 local elections, advanced technologies (e.g., fingerprint verification, optical scanners, biometric identification, and video surveillance) were piloted in about 10% of polling stations across BiH. These efforts enhanced electoral security, transparency, and efficiency, increasingly leveraging digital systems to support democratic participation. The BiH Agency for Identification Documents, Registers, and Data Exchange (IDDEEA) provided technical support for the pilot projects of the BiH Central Election Commission (CEC BiH) related to voter authentication and results transmission, as well as biometric voter identification and authentication. The European Union and the OSCE Mission in BiH provided financial support for these activities.
Even though there is no e-participation portal for young people, the BiH Ministry of Justice has vested significant efforts to improve the system of transparency, cooperation and openness to citizens and civil society organisations. The highlight of these efforts is the web platform eKonsultacije, developed with the expert support provided through the project Capacity building of government institutions to participate in dialogue with civil society (CBGI), which was funded by the European Union.