European Conference of Electoral Management Bodies: Stability of Electoral Law & Practical Aspects
Explore key aspects of electoral management, including rules for voting/counting processes, introduction of new technologies, and benefits/concerns regarding digital voting. Discover relevant regulatory instruments and insights from the 20th European Conference of Electoral Management Bodies.
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Presentation Transcript
20TH EUROPEAN CONFERENCE OF ELECTORAL MANAGEMENT BODIES ON STABILITY OF ELECTORAL LAW PRACTICAL ASPECTS Co-organised by the Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Lithuania and the Council for Democratic Elections of the Council of Europe 20ECONFERENCE EUROPEENNE DES ADMINISTRATIONS ELECTORALES SUR LA STABILITE DU DROIT ELECTORAL - ASPECTS PRATIQUES Coorganis e par la Commission lectorale centrale de la R publique de Lituanie et le Conseil des lections d mocratiques du Conseil de l Europe 15-16.04.2025 Vilnius First session 2nd Part Premi re Session 2e Partie Irena Had iabdi President of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina Pr sidente de la Commission lectorale centrale de la Bosnie-Herz govine Speeches and presentations are published in the language in which they were submitted to the Secretariat / Les discours et pr sentations sont publi s dans la langue dans laquelle ils ont t soumis au secr tariat www.coe.int/EMB
RULES APPLYING TO THE VOTING AND COUNTING PROCESS (INCLUDING THE TRANSMISSION OF RESULTS), IN PARTICULAR THE INTRODUCTION OF NEW VOTING MODALITIES AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES DR. IRENA HAD IABDI , PRESIDENT OF THE BIH CENTRAL ELECTION COMMISSION
ELECTIONS AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES In this presentation: Benefits and main concerns Relevant regulatory instruments related to new technologies Review of Bosnia and Herzegovina s pilot projects
BENEFITS AND MAIN CONCERNS Benefits - digital technologies may offer advantages to provide better inclusion (online registration, distance voting), higher degree of secrecy for people with disability as they can vote secretly. Some of the benefits are efficiency, cost-effectiveness, reduced risk of mistakes, and fraud prevention. Concerns - confidentiality, integrity and availability of election computers and data, including hacking voter databases, tampering with voting machines, disrupting election systems (e.g., DDoS attacks), and stealing or altering sensitive data.
RELEVANT REGULATORY INSTRUMENTS RELATED TO NEW TECHNOLOGIES Recommendation Rec(2004)11 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on legal, operational and technical standards for e-voting Budapest Declaration on Cybercrime in 2001, entered into force on 1 July 2004 and its two Protocols 2002 Code of Good Practice on Electoral Matters Resolution 1970 (2014) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on impact of new information and communication technology on democracy Resolution 1459(2005) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe EU Directive on the security of network and information systems (NIS Directive), 2016.
RELEVANT REGULATORY INSTRUMENTSRELATED TO NEW TECHNOLOGIES Recommendation CM/Rec(2017)5 on standards for e-voting, its Explanatory Memorandum and the associated Guidelines Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council (General Data Protection Regulation) The Cybercrime Convention Committee (T-CY) Guidance Note no.9, 2019 Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data (ETS 108), to which an additional protocol has been added at the end of 2018 (ETS 223) Declaration (13/12/2019)1 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on the manipulative capabilities of algorithmic processes Venice Commission, Joint Report on Digital Technologies and Elections, CDL-AD (2019)016 Venice Commission Interpretative Declaration of the Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters as concerns Digital technologies and Artificial Intelligence, (2024) CDL-AD(2020)037 Study - Principles for a fundamental rights-compliant use of digital technologies in electoral processes Venice Commission, Revised Interpretative Declaration on the stability of Electoral law, 2024
REVIEW OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINAS PILOT PROJECTS (RETROSPECTIVE OF EFFORTS TO INTRODUCE NEW TECHNOLOGIES) 2006 passive voter registration and an SMS center for checking polling station location introduced; Implementation of the Integrated Election Information System 2010-2022; IPA Funds 2019-2020 used to prepare Strategy and Action plan for new technologies. In 2020 the BiH CEC developed first online course, e-training, for polling station committees In 2022 the BiH CEC developed portal e-elections containing several advanced applicative systems: online registration of out-of-county voters, online registration of political parties and candidates, online submission of asset declaration forms for elected officials. In the absence of relevant changes and amendments to the BiH Election Law the High Representative had on March 26, 2024 passed the changes and amendments to the BiH Election Law, making the conduct of pilot projects possible.
PILOT PROJECTS FOR THE 2024 LOCAL ELECTIONS 1. Voter Authentication and Rapid Transmission of Results - implemented in 11 municipalities with 165 polling stations. 2. Optical Scanning and Vote Counting implemented in 7 municipalities with 143 polling stations. 3. Biometric Identification and Authentication 138 polling stations in Br ko District 4. Video Surveillance implemented in 10 polling stations in 5 municipalities.
WAY FORWARD FOR 2026 GENERAL ELECTIONS (CEC BIH FEASIBILITY STUDY KEY POINTS) strategic decisions regarding the specific technologies to be used, funding, market research, tenders and equipment purchase (biometric identification and opttical scanners), development of applications (software preparation), securing adequate warehouse for storage, testing functionality, ensuring a reliable power supply, protecting the system from cyberattacks, recruitment of necessary staff, providing continuous training, configuration of the equipment, distribution of equipment to the polling stations, final testing, and independent evaluation.
CONCLUSION Stability of electoral process and legislation for timely preparation of elections has to be done in non-election year. Eary financial considerations. Timely recruitment of necessary human resources. Security and privacy implication must be seriously considered. Long-term planning - crucial for identification of technical and infrastructural requirements, challenges and risks in order to mitigate them on time. Cooperation of all relevant stakeholders to provide important assistance. Third-party independent audit.
Thank you for your attention! Dr. Irena Had iabdi President of the BiH CEC Phone: +387 33 251 325 E-mail: irena.hadziabdic@izbori.ba
