Karajbić: If HDZ disagrees with the Election Units Law, they can send it to the Constitutional Court

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The SDP of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced today that there is a majority in the Federal Parliament that will vote to pass the Bill on Election Units and the Number of Mandates in the Parliament of the Federation of BiH.

It was emphasized that the heads of the clubs of the Party of Democratic Action, the Alliance for a Better Future, the Social Democratic Party, the Democratic Front, and Our Party will officially confirm their support for this law in writing.

The Constitutional Court of BiH annulled the provisions of the Election Law of BiH relating to the election of delegates to the House of Peoples of the FBiH Parliament. The government failed to reach a new agreement on filling the delegate positions, leaving the issue unresolved less than four months before the elections.

HDZ BiH proposes that Croatian delegates to the House of Peoples of the FBiH be elected only from those cantons where Croats are the majority, as well as Bosniaks from cantons where that nation is the majority, which is unacceptable to other parties in the FBiH, who state that HDZ BiH's proposal is contrary to European practice.

The Head of the SDP Club in the House of Representatives of the FBiH Parliament, Elvir Karajbić, told the Patria agency that the Bill on Election Units, supported by the SDP, DF, SDA, NS, and SBB, meets European standards.

When asked if HDZ BiH can block the Bill on Amendments to the Election Units Law in the House of Peoples of the FBiH, Karajbić explains:

"If 30 votes in the House of Peoples support this bill, the bill is considered passed. Of course, each of the representatives of the constituent peoples can raise the issue of vital national interest. If this happens, the Constitutional Court of BiH determines whether the law is constitutional. If the Court assesses that there was no violation of vital national interest, the law is considered valid."

The Head of the SDP Club in the FBiH Parliament believes that the Bill on Election Units, supported by five political parties from the FBiH, is constitutional and in line with European principles.

"It is a constitutional category that at least one delegate from each constituent people is elected to the House of Peoples of the FBiH from all cantons in the Federation, if they are elected to the cantonal assembly. With the new proposal, we have foreseen a second round, which states that if a delegate cannot be elected to the House of Peoples of the FBiH in this way (because they were not elected to the canton), then their seat is filled from those cantons where there are enough representatives of that constituent people," said Karajbić, writes Patria.

The session of the House of Representatives of the FBiH Parliament is scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday. The Bill on Election Units and the Number of Mandates of the five political parties is not on the agenda of these sessions. The proposal can be added to the agenda later.