ELECTIONS WILL BE HELD Who will give something to get something, or will the Election Law remain as it is

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Ahead of a new round of negotiations on amendments to the BiH Election Law, and as some political actors claim they have been informed that this will be the last attempt, the stance of the international community that the General Elections must be held, whether the Election Law is changed or not, is encouraging.

Although the same representatives insisted on amendments to the Election Law throughout 2021, perhaps even putting pressure on political actors and showing some optimism, the climate within the international community is also changing. Further ethnic divisions are out of the question, but so is depriving citizens of their right to elect their government with their vote on October 2.

Next week, US envoy for electoral reform Matthew Palmer and European representative Angelina Eichhorst are arriving in BiH. Ahead of their arrival, some political parties held preparatory talks with EU Delegation Head Johann Sattler and US Ambassador Eric Nelson. Some still maintain that there will be no negotiations while state institutions are blocked and while the RS is unilaterally withdrawing from state institutions and transferring competencies to the entity. Great credit goes to a part of the political actors, such as the SDP BiH and DF, who sharply opposed any further ethnic divisions, a "third entity for a day," and insisted on full respect for the rights of every citizen.

At the beginning of this month, during a lull, or at least it seemed so because the foreigners canceled their visit in the second half of December, HDZ BiH President Dragan Čović said that talks were ongoing, with one part held in Mostar. The same day, SDA President Bakir Izetbegović added that "both the SDA and HDZ will have to give something to get something." HDZ has the support of the SNSD and Milorad Dodik, who said yesterday that when "they agree in the FBiH, they will come to the Parliament to support it."

Three days ago, Sattler said that the elections in October will be held regardless of whether the Election Law is amended or not.

“The law is not ideal. You have the Central Election Commission and previous electoral processes that took place in accordance with the election law, so regardless of the final outcome of the negotiations, elections in this country will be held in October,” Sattler said.

Some of the earlier statements by the Head of the EU Delegation differed from this one, as they insisted on elections under the new Election Law. At that time, criticisms that part of the international community supports the demands of HDZ BiH were justified, although on December 15, a joint statement by the EU Delegation and the US Embassy emphasized that everyone must abandon maximalist demands.

Unfortunately, although an Interdepartmental Working Group for amending the law was formed, it did not function due to blockades of institutions and the withdrawal of personnel from the RS and non-attendance at sessions.

It is still unknown in what format the new negotiations will be held, but they should include the Central Election Commission, which is already facing a certain type of pressure and obstruction in organizing the General Elections.

One of the problems is that transparency and the prevention of election theft are increasingly being pushed into the background, even though this was one of the priorities for these elections to be fair and honest and reflect the true will of the voters.