Čović on Election Law: We listen to the recording and the 'trojka' confirms authenticity, but says 'we won't sign'

(Patria) - The President of HDZ BiH, Dragan Čović, said on Tuesday that he expected the amendments to the Election Law to be resolved first, and then the green light from the EU.

"You always have external influence, and then they affect all of us who are negotiating in various ways. When we talk, the positions are that it is not right for Croats to elect the member of the Presidency," he said, adding that there is no Bosniak party that would put it on paper, and that Bakir Izetbegović signed it in 2019 but did not honor it.

"When I talk to the 'trojka' (the three parties) without public scrutiny, they absolutely understand that Bosnia and Herzegovina can only survive as a state in which the three constituent peoples are equally and legitimately represented. They will accept this only when they are autonomous enough to make their own decisions without the impetus of international institutions. Let's have a meeting. Everything is agreed upon. Let's put it on paper. And then when you return, someone says 'I am not ready to sign'. We listen to the recording of what we said and ask if it is authentic? We get the answer 'yes, but we won't sign'. That is the external influence," said Čović, alluding to the agreement of the leaders of the ruling coalition in Laktaši in January of this year.

He is convinced that the interference of the High Representative Christian Schmidt in Bosnia and Herzegovina's European path, as well as the announcements of only technical amendments to the Election Law, are not a tailwind but a headwind.

"How can we expect a green light from Denmark and the Netherlands when we have a High Representative who imposes laws. That is a protectorate. We need plans for 2024 to pass these laws ourselves," he said.

He added that this would send a clear message to the international friends of the Peace Implementation Council that the High Representative should move his activities out of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

He said that Schmidt sometimes gets hysterical in meetings, banging his fist on the table, and that he once told him aside, "Mr. Schmidt, are you aware of where you have come to, what it means to bang your fist on the table in front of 20 people?", Čović revealed.