Bosnian side finds international community's proposed Election Law solution unacceptable

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The international community has so far carefully and patiently observed developments regarding amendments to the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the EU Delegation and the US Embassy in Sarajevo have held a series of meetings with political parties in BiH in an effort to reach an agreement.

Two different proposals for a new Election Law of BiH, one proposed by the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) and one proposed by the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ BiH), did not receive support from the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The international community warns that the deadline for amending the Election Law of BiH is expiring, as the amendments must be made six months before the October elections in the country.

The EU Delegation and the US Embassy in BiH have so far held a series of joint meetings with both ruling and opposition parties regarding this law, but no progress has been made. The Delegation and the US Embassy are now changing their strategy; they are holding individual talks with political parties.

The Office of the High Representative has become directly involved in amending the Election Law of BiH, although in December last year, the High Representative in BiH, Valentin Inzko, stated that the OHR would not react and that they wanted domestic solutions, because "we will leave one day and then domestic actors will have to find a solution themselves."

At the beginning of January, Inzko nevertheless revealed that regarding the electoral legislation, they are consulting with an expert from Belgium in that field and that he is visiting all political parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

When asked by the Patria news agency "whether the OHR is participating in drafting amendments to the Election Law of BiH?", the OHR neither confirmed nor denied this.

From the US Embassy in BiH, they explain to Patria that they "together with partners from the international community constantly call on political leaders to work together and in a spirit of compromise to adopt the necessary electoral reforms."

"To that end, the US Embassy and the Delegation of the European Union have invited political parties to several individual and inter-party meetings aimed at helping establish the dialogue needed to reach consensus and find a domestic solution that enjoys broad political support. There is nothing secret about these contacts. We continue to call on all parties to engage in dialogue in a spirit of compromise. This is the best path to finding a solution that enables the conduct of elections in October," state the Public Affairs Office of the US Embassy in BiH.

A high-level Patria source, close to domestic and foreign structures attempting to find a solution for amending the Election Law of BiH, claims that foreign delegations have less and less patience and understanding when it comes to amending the Election Law of BiH, "and they have clearly made it known to political parties in BiH, primarily those in the opposition, that the Central Election Commission (CEC BiH) can implement election results even without amendments to the Election Law, but that it is clear how this would be done," alluding to the fact that the current ruling parties, primarily the SDA and HDZ BiH, can manipulate election results with the help of the CEC, in a way that suits only those parties.

The same source reveals that the international community is also offering concrete solutions for amending the Election Law of BiH, but such solutions are not acceptable to the Bosnian side, without specifying what those concrete solutions are and what novelties they would bring to the Election Law of BiH.

Inzko stated in mid-January to journalists that if a solution is reached, "no one will be completely satisfied."

Amendments to the Election Law also need to be harmonized with the Constitution of BiH, but also with the still unimplemented judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg in the "Sejdić-Finci" case.