Leaders again fail to reach agreement on Bosnia's Election Law

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Leaders of political parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina have again failed to reach an agreement on amendments to the country's Election Law, the Patria agency reports.

The talks were held at the EU Delegation to BiH.

SDA President Bakir Izetbegović told reporters that during the previous meeting it seemed they were close to a solution, but ultimately they did not reach an agreement.

„Unfortunately, we did not succeed,“ Izetbegović said. He added that he does not want to discuss who is to blame for the failed negotiations, in order, as he stated, to preserve the possibility of reaching agreements in the continuation.

SBB President Fahrudin Radončić said the talks were detailed, but that they are no closer to a solution than before.

„There are differences between the Bosniak bloc and our colleagues from the HDZ,“ Radončić said. He stressed that party leaders will meet again next week to minimize the differences.

SDP President Nermin Nikšić told reporters that nothing was contentious today that had not been contentious before. He added that the leaders of the five political parties agreed not to disclose too much information to the public in order to preserve the dignity of the negotiations.

„Whether we will reach a solution, we will see,“ Nikšić said.

HDZ BiH President Dragan Čović was not present at today's meeting.

Speaking about where the problem lies and why the HDZ does not agree to certain solutions, Borjana Krišto said that the decisions of the Constitutional Court are not respected, there is insistence on the 1991 census, and insistence on constitutional provisions that, in her opinion, are contentious.

„There is no legitimate representation of the people if the 1991 census is used, and if we continue to have one delegate from each canton /in the House of Peoples of the FBiH/“, Krišto said, adding that the HDZ will not abandon these principles.

„If we reach a temporary solution – we will, if not – my God – Krišto said.

Other parties do not agree to amendments to the Election Law based on the 2013 census. They insist on exclusively using the pre-war 1991 census. This, they explain, is mandated by the Dayton Agreement, and will remain so until everyone returns to their pre-war homes in BiH. They accuse the HDZ BiH of wanting to legalize ethnic cleansing in BiH by ignoring the 1991 census in the future Election Law.

Zlatko Miletić from DF revealed that they offered the HDZ an ad-hoc solution, after which they would proceed with reforming the FBiH Constitution, but the HDZ rejected this.

„The HDZ offered as an alternative a solution for amending the Election Law that alludes to mega-cantons, but this is unacceptable to other parties because the FBiH Constitution does not recognize such a thing,“ Miletić said.