A two-day conference titled “Criminal justice sector response to the threats to fairness and integrity of elections” was held in Sarajevo from 23-25 June and was organised by the Council of Europe Office in Sarajevo in partnership with the OSCE Mission to BiH. The conference welcomed representatives from prosecutor offices throughout the country as well as police agencies and representatives from the Central Election Commission (CEC) to discuss threats targeting the integrity of election processes.

One of the main topics was related to the need for further improvement of communication and coordination between the CEC of BiH, prosecutor offices and courts, as well as the investigation and prosecution of offences in relation to electoral fraud.

The conference was also an opportunity for the exchange of experiences between CEC officials, prosecutors, and law enforcement officials, especially in relation to the prosecution of electoral fraud cases, notably the filing of criminal complaints, the conduction of investigation, the rendering of verdicts and potential appeal processes after the main trial. As a result of the conference, several conclusions for further actions were adopted, enhancing a valuable platform for discussion between members of the judiciary, the police and the electoral administration.

The conference welcomed a total of more than 50 participants including representatives of 20 prosecutor offices from BiH, the FBiH, RS and Brcko District, as well as police agencies, centres for education of judges and prosecutors from RS and the FBiH and members of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of BiH.