Bosnia deploys biometric voter ID to strengthen election integrity

New biometric scanners will be deployed for upcoming elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in an attempt to cut down on illegal voting practices.

The biometrics rollout relies on technical support from Bosnia’s Agency for Identification Documents, Registers and Data Exchange (IDDEEA), which operates the country’s e-IDDEEA digital identity platform. In turn, the IDDEEA has contracted Smartmatic BH to power the new biometric voter identification and ballot scanning system. The contract comes with a total value of 74,527,455.84 KM (US$44.1M) and covers equipment, software, consumables, technical support, printing of ballots, storage and distribution to the relevant electoral authorities.

According to a government release, the scanners are to be tested and delivered in phases, with the total deployment including 6,000 biometric voter identification devices and 6,000 ballot scanners installed at polling stations nationwide. The equipment is intended to prevent instances of multiple voting, casting votes using the identity of deceased voters, and other types of voter fraud.

A notice from the European Commission quotes EU Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Luigi Soreca, who says “free and fair elections are one of the clearest tests of a country’s readiness for the European Union,” and that Bosnia and Herzegovina’s new equipment will help reduce electoral manipulation, in hopes of improving its candidacy.

Jovan Kalaba, who is president of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina, says “biometrics permanently solves the problem of proxy voting, while scanners eliminate the influence of the human factor and intentional counting errors, providing preliminary results immediately after the closing of polling stations.”

Electoral manipulation in Bosnia and Herzegovina is driven in part by social pressure. Dario Jovanović, project manager of the Pod Lupom Coalition for fair elections, tells the Sarajevo Times that high-pressure tactics can target employment conditions, and include threats of dismissal or obligations to attend election rallies. Pod Lupom’s research shows that some 40 percent of citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina have been exposed to some form of pressure regarding their vote.

The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina is running presentations and voting simulations using the biometric identity machines in more than 65 cities and municipalities across the country, to prepare voters for the change.

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s general elections are scheduled for October 4, 2025.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  Bosnia and Herzegovina  |  elections  |  Identity and Data Exchange Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (IDDEEA)  |  Smartmatic  |  voter accreditation