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Dear Friends and Colleagues:
The conference publication in your hand is the
result of two days of presentations and discussions at our association's
Second Annual Conference and Assembly Meeting that was held in Teslic
in December 2000.
The two major and intertwined themes addressed
at the conference were nationalization of elections in Bosnia and
Herzegovina and the future activity profile of the Association of
Election Officials in Bosnia and Herzegovina (AEOBiH). I am glad
to be able to say that our conference was a success. All participants,
both nationals and internationals, were actively engaged in the
program and ensured not only useful reflections concerning past
elections and elections activities but also constructive ideas and
suggestions, which will serve as a guiding light for our association
in the new year.
The actors in the elections arena in Bosnia and
Herzegovina face great challenges in the coming years. OSCE is currently
effectuating a substantial budget and personnel cut in its Elections
Department, and they will not conduct BiH elections in the future.
OSCE's mandate will become supervisory and all implementing responsibilities
will reside with national authorities.
It is too early to predict the future national
organization of elections in BiH. The draft election law is yet
to be approved by the parliament and transfer of responsibility
from OSCE to national authorities is not likely to take place before
that happens.
It is, however, certain that our association
will play an increasingly important role. We have managed to create
an association joined by election officials from almost all municipalities
in BiH. We have completed a number of important activities ranging
from voter information activities to training of polling station
personnel. Educational activities will be at the forefront of our
work program in the coming year, paving the way for an election
officials' certification program. I feel assured that our association
will play an significant role in future elections and together we
will pursue the ambition underlying the association's establishment:
to assist in holding free and fair elections in BiH.
This publication is a selection of presentations
given by national and international election officials and experts.
I hope you will find the material interesting and useful. Please
feel free to contact the IFES/AEOBiH Secretariat for more information
about our association's mandate and activities. You will find contact
details at the back of this publication.
I would also like to take this opportunity to
thank our international conference guests coming from Austria, Hungary,
Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Spain and the United States. The international
perspectives on challenges, problems and solutions were helpful
and inspiring for all of us.
Finally and on behalf of all AEOBiH members,
I wish to thank the United States Agency for International Development
(USAID) and the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES)
for their crucial support and interest in our work.
I wish you all a happy 2001.
Katija Skocibusic
President of the Association of Election Officials
in Bosnia and Herzegovina
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