How do I vote? Who can I vote for? Which documents do I need to be able to exercise my right to vote? Am I on the electoral roll? How can I report electoral irregularities?

By Slađan Tomić

Don’t worry, many don’t know the answer to (all) these questions. With a rather complicated electoral system, a lot of ballots and papers, it's no wonder. But the answers are easy to find.

No, you don't have to search the internet for hours, just use what the Viber Chatbot offers. Viber Chatbox  was developed by the Central Election Commission with the support of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) in 2020, shortly before the local election.

John Kennedy Mosoti, UNFPA Representative, reiterates that one of the UNFPA core mission promises is to ensure that every young person's potential is fulfilled.

“With that in mind, participation in democratic processes including choosing leaders, affords young people the opportunity to shape the future of their society and cement their stake in it. UNFPA encourages all young people to go to the polls and to strive to build a society that recognizes their agency harnesses their skills and talent”, he emphasized. 

The Viber Chatbot can be easily accessed via the link or a simple search on Viber.

You just need to type "izbori" and Viber will offer you the option to join a conversation with the Viber Chatbot where you can ask questions and get answers instantly - automatically.

What happens if we (don’t) vote?

Farra Redžić (18), from Sarajevo, is impatient to exercise her right to vote for the first time. There is no doubt whether she will stay at home on October 2 or go to the polls.

 “This year I am eligible to vote for the first time. I plan to fulfill my civic duty and to be honest, I can't wait. I think that primarily as a young person who sees her future in BiH, I want to cast my vote for the right persons. No change happened overnight, so it won’t happen in our country either. That's why I'm convinced that by going to the polls, we're helping our homeland to get better. Otherwise, if we stay at home and don’t exercise our right, we will let the country stagnate. We should all ask ourselves the question: "What if it was our vote that caused our candidate to lose the election?”, says Farra.

She says that she also understands young people who are not full of hope unlike her, and who are not aware of the importance of their vote.

- This is why, it is important that we are better informed before going to the polls, that we are repeatedly told how important it is to vote, that we are given an incentive” - this young Sarajevan is advising.

That's why, she believes that Chatbot is the perfect tool for young people, and also for other citizens, to get all the necessary information.

Farra honestly says she hasn't used it yet, but she will. And she will recommend it to others, because she will find a lot of information about the electoral process useful.

 “I think Viber Chatbot is very useful, especially for young people who will vote for the first time and who are not familiar with how voting works, from filling out the ballot to choosing a candidate. It is definitely a tool that I will use”, says our interlocutor.

These are just some of the offered questions that you can ask with just one click in the options offered by the Chatbot. Answers come immediately.

Hana Ćuković (18) from Mostar is also planning to use the Viber Chatbot. She says she believes it will be useful to her because she plans to use her right to vote.

“It is important to vote because we are aware of the situation in the country and the crises that we are facing every day. I want to vote to help change the situation in the country. To those who do not want to vote, I would say that it is better to try to change something than to keep it the same. I haven't used the bot yet, but since it was designed in relation to the elections, I think it will be very useful”, says Hana.

What can one vote do?

She invites her peers to exercise their right to vote. But also others, those who say after the election that they didn't vote, that they don't have anyone to vote for, sometimes that they don't see the purpose.

“I believe that most of young people do not vote because they think that one vote cannot change much or they do not plan for the future in this country. I certainly think that the vote of an individual is an integral part of the vote of the people”, Hana adds.

Natalie Perić from Usora is 19 years old and plans to vote because, she says, this is how she decides her future. She believes that the Viber Chatbot provides useful information that she can use, which she could not get so easily before.

“By the way, I am not familiar with the Viber Chatbot. Now I see that it is a great option that offers information, simply, quickly, almost expressly. I think it's a very interesting method of informing, whether it's about young people, our parents, pensioners... This is the more useful side of the media and new technologies”, says Natalie.

Viber Chatbot has more than 4,000 subscribers so far. The young people we talked to say that it is a great way to find out everything they are interested in about the elections.

 Very easy, useful information, you too can find out.

Story by Slađan Tomić (Interview.ba)