System Transparency in the Election Process (STEP)

Donor: European Union (EU)

Duration: 01. 01. 2020. - 31. 01. 2023.

Amount: EUR 1,680,000

Partners: Centar za građansku suradnju (CGS) Livno, Forum građana Tuzle (FGT), Institut za razvoj mladih i zajednice „Perpetuum Mobile“ (PM) Banja Luka and Udruženje Demokratija-Organizovanje-Napredak (DON) Prijedor

Objective: To increase the role and capacity of civil society in BiH to effectively support further democratic consolidation by contributing to free and fair elections in BiH.

Specific objectives: 1) CSOs are directly involved in election observation, adhering to democratic values, and encouraging citizen participation and democratic development. 2) Empowered CSOs strengthen their role in democratic processes and cooperation with institutions, media and the public.

In the last General Elections in 2018, a record number of election irregularities was recorded since the Coalition "Pod lupom" observed the elections (since 2014). There is an impression that political parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) are doing whatever they want and that the laws do not apply to them as to other citizens. This is made possible by the sluggishness of the election administration and investigative bodies in eliminating and prosecuting election irregularities. During the pre-election period, Pod lupom observers recorded hundreds of cases of electoral irregularities such as illegal pressure on voters, buying votes, conditional dismissals or offering new employment in exchange for votes, misuse of public resources for campaign purposes, out-of-date voter lists in some municipalities, illegal trade in polling stations, banned paid political advertising before the start of the campaign, and other types of irregularities. In addition, a significant number of complaints were received from citizens about various types of irregularities and election fraud.

The STEP project aims to strengthen the capacity and role of civil society organizations (CSOs) in election observation. In addition to building the capacity of 300 activists from 100 different CSOs and developing the Coalition's CSO network, which is the focus of the project, the project will address:

• election observation through training and engagement of 5,000 election observers in the period before election day and on election day for the Local Elections 2020 and the General Elections 2022;
• development and advocacy of public policies through the development of proposals for the improvement of legislation in the field of elections and their active advocacy among decision makers, with the implementation of 50 advocacy campaigns;
• working with citizens and educating voters through working with 20,000 young voters, and organizing public events and 300 trainings for election observers;
• monitoring the reporting of 30 media for the 2022 General Elections and developing recommendations for improving media regulations in the field of elections.