Eight candidates for head and members of the Central Election Commission

Eight candidates applied for the announcement for the election of the president and four members of the Central Election Commission (CEC), "Vijesti" has learned.

Applications for the competition, which ended on January 27, should be opened today, at the session of the Commission for the Implementation of the Election of the President and Members of the Central Election Commission.

"Vijesti" was unofficially told by the Commission that the list of candidates is not yet final, as it is not ruled out that some applications were sent by mail, so it is possible that they will arrive in the meantime.

The president and members of the CEC - into which the State Election Commission (SEC), in accordance with this summer's amendments to the law, is to be transformed - will be elected by parliament.

The first competition for their selection was unsuccessful. From the Commission headed by the Minister of Justice Bojan BožovićOn December 24th of last year, they announced that they had unanimously decided that the only candidate for president from that competition - did not meet the legal criteria.

The conditions for the election of the president and members of the CEC include that candidates have at least a VII1 level of education in the field of legal sciences, at least ten years of professional experience, of which at least five in the field of elections.

Member of the SEC Damir Suljević recently told "Vijesti" that with the resignation of the newly elected judge of the Constitutional Court Nikola Mugoša to the position of President of the SEC, that institution is entering a de facto blockade, because none of its members has the authority to schedule a session at which decisions would be made.

"From the moment the president's resignation was confirmed, the SEC has been in complete legal and functional paralysis, and the only legally prescribed way out of this situation is the election of the CEC, which will take over its responsibilities," he said.

Suljević also said that, considering that the selection of the CEC is a lengthy process, as well as the fact that the procedure following the first competition was unsuccessful, there is no guarantee that this body will be elected in the second attempt.

"In such a scenario, the process could take months, which is why, in order to overcome the blockade, amendments to the Law on the Election of Councilors and Representatives should possibly be considered," Suljević assessed.

The Commission for the Implementation of the Election of the President and Members of the CEC previously announced that they have the important task of carrying out the procedure of "transparent selection of candidates...". They also stated that this begins the process of depoliticization and professionalization of the election administration, which was proclaimed and legally defined by the first part of the electoral reform from July last year.