In October 2020, a long-time member of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mirsad Kukić, was sentenced to one year in prison by the municipal court in Sarajevo for trading in influence in the hiring of a former MP’s son in the public-sector utility company Elektroprivreda in Tuzla in 2016. Following the defence’s appeal, the Sarajevo cantonal court sent the case back for a retrial, which started in February 2024, but was terminated in June that year following the death of the accused, Mirsad Kukić.

According to the indictment of the Sarajevo cantonal prosecutor's office in August 2016, Kukić, gave a green light for Amel Škaljo, the son of a former SDA MP, Omer Škaljo, to be employed at the branch office of the public utility company Elektrodistribucija in Tuzla, although he previously objected to it because the candidate was not from the ​​Tuzla canton. Kukić, who was at the time the president of the cantonal board of SDA Tuzla and a member of that party's presidency, had no authority to influence the admission of employees to Elektrodistribucija in Tuzla. But the details published in the indictment suggest that Kukić used his political influence to intervene in the employment processes there.

In March 2017, Sarajevo cantonal prosecution accused Kukić along with eight other people, including other influential figures from SDA, in a case called Bosna, of participating in facilitating illegal employment in Elektroprivreda. Kukić’s case was separated from the others in October 2017 for health reasons.

The widespread practice of partisan employment in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s public-sector companies demonstrates how political parties can control hiring processes in public institutions. Such practices undermine public trust in institutions and discourage qualified candidates who lack political connections from pursuing public-sector careers.