Bosnia and Herzegovina to hold new elections in 2016: In October, you will elect who will negotiate a new Constitution for you!

For next year, marking the 20th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Agreement and the 20th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, the international community is preparing a key initiative for constitutional reforms that could determine the country's fate, confirmed to the Bosnian news agency Patria (NAP) from multiple diplomatic sources.

Namely, Washington and Berlin have been in contact for a long time, attempting to form a reform package that would bring functionality to the state, while being largely acceptable to everyone in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The current Bosnian leaders were invited to Berlin in August for preliminary talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The peak of the initiative is planned for the spring of next year, and if it passes, Bosnia and Herzegovina would face new general elections in two years, Patria has learned.

After more than six years of complete blockades in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the key powers in the international community have realized that without constitutional changes, the situation in our country will only worsen, and with this initiative, they want to prevent a potential escalation of a wider crisis.

At the same time, the opinion has matured that these changes will not happen without strong external pressure.

The package of constitutional changes would, as we were told, include, among other things, the implementation of the Sejdić-Finci ruling, a new reform of the judiciary and police, and better functionality of the Council of Ministers, along with the introduction of new ministries.

Also, within this plan is the merging of general and local elections, which would create significant savings. Thus, in 2016, Bosnia and Herzegovina would have new general elections along with the already planned local elections, all according to the new constitution.

This aligns with expectations within the international community that even after the October elections, there will be no significant shifts in the balance of power or political stabilization.

- It will be difficult to form a government after the elections, almost as difficult as agreeing on constitutional changes. Therefore, it might be best to seek a coalition and agreement on constitutional changes after the elections, and then start with new elections in 2016 and a new government, under a new constitution that will be easier to form and will function better – one diplomatic source told us.

Therefore, these elections, as we learn, will be important primarily because they will decide who will be involved in the talks on constitutional changes.

When it comes to Bosniaks, as we learn, it will be of crucial importance that they are represented in these negotiations by politicians with international reputation and connections, because ties with the international factor, as in Dayton, will be of utmost importance. The question is whether the current officials, for whom their parties and immediate circles are most important, could achieve a real result for Bosnia and Herzegovina in these negotiations.

- If Bosniaks enter this process unprepared, preoccupied with narrow party interests, no one can guarantee them what kind of state will emerge from this process, stronger or weaker. The only certainty is that it will be easier to manage and more functional, but there are multiple ways to achieve this – explained a diplomatic source of Patria.

At the same time, Sofia Sebastian, an expert on the Balkans from Spain, in an article published by CNN, calls on the international community to launch an initiative and help unblock Bosnia and Herzegovina. She emphasizes that the October elections could be a crucial moment for a country that has been paralyzed for years.

- Violence in Iraq and Syria is beyond the reach of Western powers, but the US and Europe have the opportunity to become active in Bosnia and Herzegovina and ensure a more stable future for that country. They must not miss this chance – states Sebastian, reports NAP.