Organization Structure of My Country 2

BiH’s Legislative and Executive Bodies 3

Regulation and Conduction of Elections in B&H The Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the session of the House of Representatives held on 21 August 2001 and on the session of the House of People held on 23 August 2001 adopted the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina This law shall regulate the election of the members and the delegates of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina and of the members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina and shall stipulate the principles governing the elections at all levels of authority in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 4

The Basic Regulation of B&H Election Law The election of members of all bodies of authority shall be made on the basis of general and equal voting rights by direct and secret ballots, unless otherwise stipulated by this law. Each citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina who has attained eighteen (18) years of age shall have the right to vote and to be elected pursuant to this law. A citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina who temporarily resides abroad and has the right to vote. A citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina who holds dual citizenship shall have the right to register and to vote, only if Bosnia and Herzegovina is the country of his or her permanent residence. No person who is serving a sentence imposed by the ICTY, and no person who is under indictment by the Tribunal and who has failed to comply with an order to appear before the Tribunal, may register to vote or stand as a candidate. 5

Authorities Responsible for the Conduct of Elections The competent authorities responsible for the conduct of elections are the election commissions and the Polling Station Committees. These bodies are independent and impartial in their work. Members of election commissions and Polling Station Committees shall be persons eligible to vote. The ELECTION COMMISSION OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA derives its authority from and reports directly to, the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall determine the number of the Municipal Election Commission members in accordance with the number of the registered voters and the size of a municipality. The members of the MUNICIPAL ELECTION COMMISSION shall be appointed by the Municipal Council/Municipal Assembly, subject to the approval of the Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The POLLING STATION COMMITTEE shall directly manage the conduct of the Polling Station, ensure the regularity and secrecy of the ballot and record the election results at the Polling Station. 6

Who can Vote A citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina, aged eighteen (18) or older, exercises his or her right to vote based on his or her registration into the Central Voters Register. Each person shall apply for registration personally. No person may apply for registration on behalf of another person The Central Voters Register shall include the names and information about all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina who have the right to vote and who have registered to vote The Central Voters Register, Municipal Voters Registers shall be public documents 7

Election of the B&H Presidency For the election of members of the B&H Presidency, we use MAJORITY ELECTORAL SYSTEM. It means that candidate of constituent people who gets the highest number of votes among candidates from the same constituent people shall be elected. The members of the Presidency of B&H directly elected from the territory of the Federation of B&H - one Bosniak and one Croat shall be elected by voters registered to vote for the Federation of B&H. The member of the Presidency that shall be directly elected from the territory of RS - one Serb shall be elected by voters registered to vote in the Republika Srpska. The mandate for the members of the Presidency shall be four (4) years. The Chair of the Presidency shall be changed every eight (8) months by the principles of rotation among the members of the Presidency. 8

Election of members of B&H Parliamentary Assembly Electoral system that we use for election of the members of the Parliamentary Assembly of B&H is proportional open list system. The Parliamentary Assembly is consisted of the House of Representatives and the House of Peoples. The House of Representatives consists of 42 members, 28 of whom are directly elected by voters registered to vote for the territory of the Federation of B&H, and 14 of whom are directly elected by voters registered to vote for the territory of the Republika Srpska. The mandate of members of the House of Representatives is 4 years. The House of Peoples is consisted of 15 members of whom two thirds (5 Bosniaks and 5 Croats) are representatives of the Federation while one third (five Serbs) are representatives from Republika Srpska. Nominated Bosniak and Croat representatives from the Federation are being elected by Bosniak and Croat representatives in House of Representatives of the Federation, while representatives from the Republika Srpska are being elected by the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska. 9

According to a UNDP research, more than 60% of B&H youth would like to leave the country because: Economic situation in the country is difficult Unemployment rate is high Educational system is not harmonized with developed countries Corruption and crime are very common among people in power Young people don’t trust political parties in general The lack of will to involve young people in political processes Because of such situation young people are also not interested to vote in elections so their participation in this process is insufficient. 10

Considering that permanent education about elections and its consequences does not exist there is magic way how we could do it: Educate them, Educate them and Educate them. Almost forgot: 11

To educate them about basic principles of democracy, human rights, tolerance, accountability, professionalism and their importance for development of society. To educate them about elections, electoral process and its consequences for changes in society. To educate them about decision making processes on different levels of authority and how those decisions affect their own lives. To educate them that the only democratic way of changing of authority is through elections. To educate them that it’s necessary to participate in social processes and that in case they don’t vote they enable others to make decisions that are important for their own lives. To educate them that only through own participation in politics they can make difference. 12

What was done so far and what is being done? Continuous education of young people about elections does not exist, even though in post-war period there was a significant progress in the area. In election years, certain activities targeting youth are being conducted, but unfortunately they end with election day. Political parties have youth associations that in election years also intensify their activities. NGOs in the country gather youth and promote their participation in election process and involve them in all phases of electoral process. In our point of view, these could be the most significant activities that could influences greater turnout of youth in elections. 13

International organizations whose presence is very important in B&H as well as B&H Association of Electoral Officials (AEOB&H) also organize various types of elections activities targeting youth. Education reform process is currently taking place in B&H and some democratic values are being incorporated in educational system. Topics related to democratic elections are part of those programs, but only as marginal activity. Perhaps the most comprehensive activities in the area of education of youth and promotion of election process was program “Youth and Elections”, which AEOB&H and IFES implemented as pilot program in B&H primary and secondary schools. We hope that different types of youth participation and their turnout in elections in the future will improve and that sessions such as this one will promote values of democratic elections not just in our country but also in the region and wider. 14

Delegation of B&H youth would like to thank ACEEEO for the opportunity to participate in this seminar Budapest, April 29-May 2,