Palmer and Eichhorst: No plan or project we represent, but time is running out for an agreement

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Matthew Palmer, US envoy for electoral reform, said after a meeting with members of the Central Election Commission, representatives of the Coalition Under the Magnifying Glass and Transparency International that he is here with his EU colleague Angelina Eichhorst to support efforts to reach an agreement on limited constitutional reform and electoral reform.

"The US supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of BiH, we believe that electoral reform and limited constitutional reform are very important, important for the functionality of BiH institutions on BiH's path forward towards European and Euro-Atlantic institutions. The first meeting was with representatives of civil society, we discussed the integrity of the electoral process, the importance of monitoring the recommendations of ODIHR and GRECO, and that it is important for this process to succeed in Parliament and for the elections in BiH to be correct, fair, transparent, for citizens to be safe and to believe again that their vote is important, that their votes are heard, that the election results reflect the will of the citizens. We are here to support this process and to support BiH," said Palmer.

Angelina Eichhorst said that they will have intensive discussions in the next four days or more with all relevant actors, with all those who have an interest in the EU accession process.

"When it comes to the functionality of institutions, non-discrimination and other important principles. Within this process, we are discussing how to ensure fair and transparent elections, aware of the circumstances we are in, which is a deep crisis currently prevailing in BiH. Everything we are doing aims to instill a certain hope in citizens and in all those outside BiH who want to help. In these initial meetings, we had the opportunity to talk with representatives of the CEC, Pod lupom and Transparency International, and meetings and discussions with numerous actors, a whole range of interlocutors, await us. The goal is to ensure the holding of elections in October 2022 in a fair, transparent, non-discriminatory manner with the full functionality of institutions. This integrity package for electoral reforms is still at the level of ideas and various proposals that have been put forward.

Literally, nothing has been considered yet at this moment, in terms of concrete proposals, nor have we reached the level of detail, we are striving for the most transparent and inclusive process possible, which will include all relevant parties. On this occasion, I would like to send a message that time is running out, time is running out to ensure credible amendments to the Election Law that would be sent to the Parliamentary Assembly for consideration. This element of urgency should also be kept in mind," said Eichhorst.

Palmer spoke about accusations of bias and threats of sanctions against Bakir Izetbegović.

"I represent the US, and when I speak, when I address the public, I speak on behalf of US policy. Neither Angelina nor I are here to represent any plan or project; what we want is to help political parties reach an agreement, we want to enable that agreement on electoral reform and limited constitutional reform to be reached in order to improve the functioning of BiH institutions, to implement the decisions of the European Court, the Constitutional Court of BiH, to help BiH on its path forward," said Palmer.