Scanner replacements keep polling stations open
Voting in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s October 4 general election began with problems at some polling stations using new ballot scanners. Jovan Kalaba, president of the country’s Central Election Commission, said some stations opened and then temporarily closed when the equipment stopped working. Local election commissions reported the failures, and replacement scanners were being supplied. This is the country’s first general election with widespread biometric voter identification and scanning of paper ballots. Voters still mark paper ballots; the new equipment verifies their identity and reads those ballots.[1], [2]
Kalaba put late-morning turnout at 11.94 percent, compared with 15 percent at the same stage in the 2022 general election. He said identity verification took about 35 seconds on average, from finding the voter’s details to printing confirmation. A small number of voters, mostly holders of newly issued identity cards, were difficult for the devices to identify. Kalaba said 5,757 of those who had voted were first-time voters. Polling was scheduled to continue into the evening. Stations that opened late can extend voting by the length of the delay.[1]