Bosnia and Herzegovina to use fingerprint scanners, ballot counters in general elections

Bosnia and Herzegovina is set to introduce significant technological advancements for its upcoming general elections on October 4. Voters will be identified using biometric devices, including fingerprint scanners, and ballots will be counted electronically through scanners. This move aims to enhance transparency and prevent the electoral fraud that has been a subject of numerous complaints in previous years, such as alleged voting in the name of deceased individuals.

The Central Election Election Commission (SIP) has already received the first shipment of new equipment, comprising 150 biometric identification devices and 150 ballot scanners. The commission plans to conduct the initial phase of testing on August 17 and 18. A total of 2,450 such devices are expected to be delivered in four cycles. Additionally, the data center equipment for the SIP has been installed and is undergoing configuration, with the necessary software environment being established.

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New technologies are being introduced primarily to prevent abuses that were the subject of numerous complaints in previous years.

The contract for this technological overhaul has been awarded to a consortium led by "Smartmatic International Holding" from the Netherlands, a company with prior experience in similar projects across 35 countries. SIP member Željko Bakalar emphasized that the new technologies are primarily intended to curb abuses. Voters will need a valid ID to cast their ballot, after which they will be registered via biometric identification. Their signatures on confirmation slips will be collected for turnout verification. Ballots must be filled out completely for machine readability, and voters will insert them into scanners one by one, preventing any post-casting alterations to the results.

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Through four cycles, deliveries of devices for biometric voter identification and four cycles of ballot scanner deliveries will be carried out. In the first contingent, 150 devices for voter identification and ballot scanning arrived.