Komšić: European Commission's Opinion is a Defeat for the Policy of "Legitimate Representation"

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - With the publication of the European Commission's opinion, the policy that convinced and misled the domestic public about how to allegedly ensure so-called "legitimate political representation of peoples" has suffered a complete defeat, said the member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Željko Komšić, today.

He stated that the European Commission's opinion on Bosnia and Herzegovina's candidate status confirmed several things he had been pointing out for a long time, relating to a series of elements that need to be aligned with European standards in our country.

"I am pleased that the European Commission's Opinion, unequivocally without the possibility of different and freer interpretations from certain non-European political circles in BiH, provides a clear diagnosis of what in our country is not aligned with European standards," says Komšić.

The first, very important point, Komšić emphasizes, relates to the fact that the BiH Constitution contains provisions where there is an ethnically based method of electing officials, as well as a method of decision-making on an ethno-territorial principle, which is not in line with the European Convention on Human Rights.

"The election, composition, and method of decision-making for the collective head of state and legislative bodies give preference or are exclusively reserved for members of the constituent peoples, which requires necessary reforms to ensure all citizens of BiH can exercise their political rights in accordance with the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights from the Sejdić-Finci case and other related judgments. This has actually led to a complete defeat for the HNS policy that convinced the domestic public that "legitimate political representation of peoples" should be ensured, because they believe that peoples, or as Europe calls them – ethnic groups, should have some special or higher political rights. However, the reality, after the publication of the European Commission's Opinion, is diametrically opposite. The opinion clearly states that political rights should be ensured for all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina," emphasizes Komšić.

The election of delegates to the Houses of Peoples, Komšić adds, is also assessed in the Opinion as being contrary to European standards, as is the invocation of "vital national interest" as an element that hinders the adoption of all laws, including those related to the European legal acquis, thus clearly seeking a change in the legislative role of the Houses of Peoples into something else.

Komšić states that it is evident that the current constitutional arrangement does not meet European standards and that if Bosnia and Herzegovina wants to obtain candidate status, all of this needs to be changed and harmonized with European standards. Likewise, it is necessary to regulate the elections in the City of Mostar. For Europe, it is simply impossible and incomprehensible that there have been no elections there for ten years, meaning that the city government is not the electoral will of the citizens of Mostar.
 
However, the key part of the Opinion, Komšić believes, are the conclusions and recommendations, the first of which relates to the need to amend the Election Law, but in accordance with European standards, while respecting the recommendations of the Venice Commission regarding electoral legislation.

"It should be recalled that the most recent opinion was in the decision of the Constitutional Court of BiH in the case of "Božo Ljubić", in which the Venice Commission stated that the then part of the Constitution of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which concerns the filling of the House of Peoples of the FBiH, was in accordance with European electoral standards, and then the "impartial" Constitutional Court of BiH annulled and invalidated precisely those provisions of the Election Law of BiH and created a vacuum in our country's electoral system," states Komšić.

Komšić recalled that the Venice Commission, during recent negotiations on amendments to the Election Law of BiH, stated that this issue from the "Božo Ljubić" decision should be resolved by the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is in line with the Venice Commission's opinion articulated through the DF's and SDP's proposal for the Law on Electoral Units and Mandate Distribution in the FBiH.

"This draft law was removed from the agenda of the House of Peoples of the FBiH by the so-called "promoters of European values", using their known procedure for protecting vital national interest, and today it is clear why," noted Komšić.

Komšić added that these same individuals, by inventing terms non-existent in Europe such as "legitimate political representation of peoples", or by using an ethnically and entity-oriented decision-making system in legislative bodies, have actually nullified the candidate status and postponed Bosnia and Herzegovina's further European path for an unknown period. It is certain that the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina did not deserve this.