Decision by the BiH CEC divides FBiH into two ethnic electoral units

SARAJevo, (Patria) - The Social Democratic Party of BiH, Democratic Front, Alliance for a Better Future, and Our Party adopted a joint statement and conclusions regarding the decision on the method of electing delegates to the House of Peoples of the Parliament of the Federation of BiH by the Central Election Commission.

The joint position of these four parties is that it is discriminatory, unconstitutional, and de facto divides FBiH into two ethnic electoral units.

Such a decision would prevent any Croat from Sarajevo, Tuzla, or Una-Sana Canton from being elected to the House of Peoples of the FBiH. At the same time, no Bosniak from Posavina, Livno, or Herzegovina-Neretva Canton would be able to be elected to this house.

- In this way, unconstitutional solutions would be introduced into the BiH electoral system, with elements of discrimination that further derogate from previous judgments of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, which established numerous discriminations in the existing electoral legislation of BiH.

The Constitution of FBiH and the Constitution of BiH clearly state that the 1991 census must be applied until the full implementation of Annex 7, so the CEC, by referring to the 2013 census, is actually legalizing ethnic cleansing, thus placing itself above the Constitution.

- The CEC does not have the jurisdiction to prescribe the number and structure of delegates to the House of Peoples by any of its decisions. In addition to unconstitutional actions, the CEC clearly sees itself as an institution that can place itself above the law - the joint statement reads.

Seven conclusions were also adopted, which demand that the CEC immediately suspend all activities related to the preparation of this decision. The deputies of these four parties are tasked with submitting a request to the Constitutional Court for an assessment of the constitutionality of Articles 10.12 of the Election Law of BiH, along with other deputies in the Parliament of FBiH and BiH. They are requesting an urgent session of the Federal Parliament to consider the Bill on Electoral Units and the Number of Mandates in the Parliament. These parties are asking the High Representative in BiH for protection of the integrity of the electoral process in BiH. One of the conclusions is that they support the diplomatic efforts of representatives of the international community regarding reaching an agreement on amendments to the election law. They expect that the analysis of the proposed solutions will be guided by democratic principles and norms that apply in democratic societies. If the CEC persists in its intentions to adopt the controversial decision, we are ready for any form of democratic struggle, which includes organizing protests - it was announced.

These four parties also called on all other political parties, organizations, and individuals to join the fight for the equality of all citizens throughout the territory of BiH.