Bosnia Postpones Local Elections Over Budget Delays

RFE
23 May 2020, 23:45 GMT+10

Officials in Bosnia-Herzegovina announced on May 23 that they will postpone local elections, whihc had been set for October 4 because of the country's ongoing budget crisis.

The government has not yet adopted a 2020 budget and the Central Election Commission said it was not able to set up a timetable for the elections because the government missed the deadline for allocating funds for them on May 22.

'The elections could not be held in accordance with the election law and will be put off until November 15,' the election commission said in a statement.

Nearly 3.4 million voters are eligible to help choose town and municipal councils and mayors in the country's two autonomous regions -- the Bosniak-Croat Federation and the Republica Srpska, and in the neutral Brsko District.

The elections cost some 4.5 million euros ($4.9 million), half of it to be provided by the central government and half by local governments.

The government has been operating under interim financing arrangements as it tries to pass a national budget.

The government hopes to pass a budget, including funding for the elections, by the end of May. It would then have to be approved by the presidency.

Based on reporting by AP and Reuters

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