Efendić warns: With indirect election of the BiH Presidency, we could essentially lose a lot!

(Patria) - Meetings with the special envoy for electoral reform of the United States of America, Matthew Palmer, and the director at the European External Action Service, Angelina Eichhorst, continue tomorrow, and today news was released to the public about proposals for the indirect election of members of the BiH Presidency.

Representatives of parliamentary parties who need to raise their hands for any potential changes to the Constitution and the Election Law of BiH also discussed this method of election today, but there were no representatives from the Republika Srpska, who must also declare their position on the matter.

However, what would this indirect method of election actually entail? Technically, it would mean that the members of the BiH Presidency are elected by the BiH Parliament, but essentially, a lot would be lost, warned Semir Efendić, president of the Party for BiH, in a statement to Patria.

"I call on representatives of political parties leading talks on amendments to the Election Law of BiH, i.e., the Constitution of BiH, to take great care that through these amendments they do not abolish or jeopardize the most important state institution according to the BiH Constitution, and that is the BiH Presidency, as the only institution not under the umbrella of entity voting. It is an institution that cannot be blocked, and Dodik can bring an accordion player to the Presidency, but he must come to the session even when he wants to jeopardize the decisions of the Presidency," said Efendić.

He reminded that if, by any chance, a member of the Presidency from the RS ignores the invitation to a Presidency session and does not attend, the BiH Presidency, according to the Constitution which is also an international agreement, has the absolute right to make decisions legally and legitimately, and represents the state at the international level.

"If the method of electing members of the Presidency changes and it becomes indirect, i.e., from the Parliament, we will find ourselves in a situation where entity voting will condition even those personnel solutions, and we will reach a situation where it will not even be elected, nor will the Council of Ministers, which according to the Constitution is proposed by the BiH Presidency. Given the current situation, due to the growing problems in the functioning of BiH institutions and the efforts of the smaller BiH entity to appear as a subject in international circles, it would be significant for the BiH Presidency to remain at full capacity as it has according to the Constitution," said Efendić.

A Presidency that would be elected indirectly, and not directly by the people, warns Efendić, would mean much less in both substantive and symbolic terms.

"A member of the Presidency elected in the Parliament can also be dismissed there and does not have the strength gained through the support of citizens in elections. It is important to say that the Presidency currently functioning represents the entire electorate of BiH, regardless of the fact that two members are elected on the territory of the FBiH and one member in the RS. Citizens of BiH vote for them, and the Presidency, according to the current constitution, represents all citizens of BiH who go to the polls. If this Presidency were to be elected indirectly, it would, in a certain sense, become an insignificant body, considering that no institution in BiH can function anymore without it being the will of some entity through the mechanism of entity voting in the BiH Parliament. That situation is not currently the case," emphasized Efendić.

And the chances that Dodik will support the indirect election of members of the Presidency are likely, given that weaker state bodies at the same time mean stronger entity bodies, which is the main goal of separatist politics.