OHR Claims: Schmidt Secured Conditions for Fair and Transparent Elections in BiH

(Patria) - High Representative Christian Schmidt has secured conditions for fair and transparent elections, so that citizens can be sure their votes count, it was announced today to RSE from the Office of the High Representative (OHR), in response to a request for comment on the adoption of the entity law in RS.

The National Assembly of RS early this morning adopted the Draft Election Law of RS, in response to the technical amendments to the Election Law of BiH that Schmidt imposed on March 26.

The BiH Constitution does not mention the possibility of entities in BiH conducting elections.

The amendments imposed by Schmidt, using the so-called Bonn Powers, are intended to reduce the possibility of electoral manipulations, such as those recorded in previous years' elections.

They provide, among other things, for biometric identification of voters, meaning that citizens at polling stations will be identified based on biometric parameters in addition to their ID cards.

What is the essence of the technical amendments to the Election Law imposed by Schmidt?

The OHR says it is in the interest of citizens who have the right to fully democratic electoral standards.

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NSRS adopted the Draft Election Law of Republika Srpska, goes to public debate for 15 days

(Patria) - Deputies of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, at a session that began at midnight on Thursday, adopted the Draft Election Law which stipulates that elections for governing bodies in RS are conducted by the Republican Election Commission, city or municipal

"The lack of criticism regarding the content of the amendments to the Election Law, even among those who disagree with their adoption, further confirms this. There is still room for domestic authorities to finally act," the OHR stated for Radio Free Europe.

The High Representative imposed amendments to the Election Law after the state-level authorities failed to meet the deadline he set and complete that work themselves.

The most criticism following Schmidt's move came from RS, whose authorities responded by initiating the process of adopting their own election law, which would strip the Central Election Commission of BiH of its authority to organize elections.

The Draft Election Law, adopted by the National Assembly of RS last night, also stipulates that the RS Election Commission makes decisions on holding direct elections in that entity and carries out all activities related to the election of the President and Vice-President of RS, as well as the entity's National Assembly.

All general and local elections on the territory of the entire Bosnia and Herzegovina, from the adoption of the BiH Election Law in 2001 until today, have been conducted by the Central Election Commission of BiH.