Elections and New Technologies in Bosnia and Herzegovina
To facilitate the rollout of new voting technologies for the 2026 general election and support stakeholders in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Civic Hub is supporting the implementation of the new technology rollout, development of interactive training materials, and electoral stakeholder training. This initiative facilitates transparency and information sharing surrounding the technologies used at full scale in the October 4 general election. Implemented in partnership with CEDES Ltd. and in coordination the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Voting Technologies
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Transparency
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Information
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Voting Technologies ✳︎ Transparency ✳︎ Information ✳︎ ✳︎
Press Summary: Civic Hub's President served as the organization's spokesperson in appearances on N1, Nova TV, Hayat, TV Sarajevo, BHRT, and Federalna televizija (FTV), regional media like HRT 1, speaking directly to the BiH public. As an international election expert leading the team that supported the Central Election Commission (CEC) of BiH in introducing new voting technologies, she explained that the CEC's preparations, including the challenges that are a normal part of such a process, were part of building transparency. She emphasized that voters had every reason to trust the CEC and encouraged them to turn out on election day.
The October 4 general election went on to mark a new phase in BiH's democratic development. After only one pilot, BiH organized a trusted election using new technologies, earning praise from citizens, electoral stakeholders, and the broader international community, and setting an example for others.
Radio Sarajevo
RTV BN
https://www.rtvbn.com/4096664/glasovi-ce-se-brojati-i-rucno-i-elektronski-kraj-manipulaciji
N1 BiH New Day: Is the system ready for October 4?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNw5DmznKQQ
https://n1info.ba/vijesti/novi-dan-da-li-je-sistem-spreman-za-4-oktobar/
Dnevnik 1 BHRT - 12’49”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuWXnBrECQY
How to rebuild trust in elections – Best international practice presented in Sarajevo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmw-JweK-ug
FTV / Federalna.ba CIK BiH & Civic Hub about technology and trust in elections
https://federalna.ba/cik-bih-i-civic-hub-us-o-tehnologiji-i-povjerenju-u-izbore-bxted
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6Jiqf9xLWo
HRT 1 Vijesti
https://vijesti.hrt.hr/svijet/u-punom-jeku-predizborne-kampanje-u-bih-12916696
Press Coverage: Civic Hub in BiH
Sarajevo, October 7, Nova TV: Civic Hub President Tihana B. Blanc discusses the successful use of new election technologies in Bosnia and Herzegovina's October 4 general election, implemented by the Central Election Commission (CEC) with Civic Hub's support.
Sarajevo, October 9, Behind the Scene: Following the successful use of new election technologies in Bosnia and Herzegovina's October 4 general election, Civic Hub President Tihana B. Blanc joins Laura Bošnjak on the podcast to discuss what this achievement means for BiH, the lessons learned, and the next steps.
Sarajevo, Sep 15. N1’s New Day
Sarajevo, September 28. BHRT’s Morning for All.
Sarajevo, Sep 25. N1’s Daily Live
Popular
Sarajevo, September 23. Behind the Scene Podcast.
Full Interview on Federal TV starting @ 1:53 min
https://federalna.ba/dobro-jutro-bosno-i-hercegovino-28092026-1nl8z
Sarajevo, September 28, TV Sarajevo.
Vogosca, September 25. Hayat’s Good Afternoon.
2025
Streaming link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8Zm0TJQip4
“The October 4 general election went on to mark a new phase in BiH's democratic development. After only one pilot, BiH organized a trusted election using new technologies, earning praise from citizens, electoral stakeholders, and the broader international community, and setting an example for others.” Civic Hub
“The piloting of new technologies was rated as extremely successful at 97.9% of the polling stations observed…As many as 81 percent of BiH citizens support the introduction of the new voting technologies.”
Pod Lupom Coalition Sarajevo, Sep 16: Elections 2026 - Best Practices for Achieving Trust Through Technology Roundtable organized by Civic Hub at the Central Election Commission’s Education Center.
Activities
Voting Technologies and Trust: On September 16, Civic Hub, in partnership with the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina, organized a roundtable discussion on new voting technologies and best practices for building trust in elections, ahead of the October 4 general election. The roundtable presented practices applied to strengthen trust in results and institutions, and shared the key information voters and electoral stakeholders need ahead of elections. Panelists included representatives from the Central Election Commission, local election commissions, domestic and international institutions providing support, election observers, and the media. You can watch it on CEC’s YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8Zm0TJQip4
On September 24, Civic Hub convened members of the international community for an open forum on election preparations in BiH. Participants discussed the current state of preparations, key developments and outstanding issues, and the management and verification of results as important prerequisites for maintaining citizens’ trust in the electoral process.
Civic Hub also shared excerpts from the Central Election Commission’s educational video on new technologies for the 2026 general election, including biometric voter identification and the operation of optical scanners. Attendees expressed appreciation for the organization’s efforts to foster an open discussion that brought together diverse members of the electoral community to exchange views on the importance of impartiality on election day and the critical role of free, transparent, and timely results.
Interactive Training Materials: To help improve the training of election officials, especially on the installation and handling of the new technology, Civic Hub is helping the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina develop interactive materials and training videos. A step-by-step video showing how to set up biometric authentication devices and scanning machines was developed and distributed to polling station operators, polling stations presidents and officials handling the new technologies, helping them learn how to set up the new devices and troubleshoot issues the day before and on Election Day.
How to Set Up and Test the New Technologies for the 2026 Election in BiH. Video developed by Civic Hub US (production by Dron.ba) for the CEC Operator Training.
Verifiable Election Results: New voting and results-processing technology only earns public confidence when it is tested, explained, and opened up to scrutiny long before election day. That is precisely the approach the Central Election Commission of BiH and its partners have taken. Ahead of the October 4 general election, CEC has been working — together with local commissions, international partners like the OSCE Mission, and technical experts — to introduce voting and results-processing technology that is more reliable, more transparent, and harder to manipulate than what came before it. The CEC has piloted these systems before rolling them out broadly. They have trained election officials thoroughly and built in ways for observers and the public to verify election results by running two complete result sets - manual and automated, and by publishing and comparing them in case of differences in the presence of observers and the media at the counting and results center in Sarajevo.