Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Ustavni sud Bosne i Hercegovine), No. U-5/20, 2 July 2020

Local elections postponed due to Covid-19 pandemic.

Art. 1, par. 2, Constitution
Art. 1, par. 14, Electoral Act
Art. 3, Prot. 1, ECHR

1. Elections are the fundamental moment in the exercise of electoral rights. The moment in which the will of the people is expressed.

2. In some exceptional circumstances elections may be postponed, although the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina stipulates in Article 1, paragraph 14, that elections shall be held on the first Sunday in October. The occurrence of a pandemic constitutes an exceptional circumstance for which elections may be postponed, without this constituting a violation of electoral law.
(Twenty-eight representatives of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska complained that the decision of the Central Electoral Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina to postpone local elections because of the Covid-19 pandemic was unconstitutional).