House of Representatives to discuss amendments to BiH Election Law tomorrow

(Patria) - The House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH will discuss the Bill on Amendments to the Election Law of BiH at a session in Sarajevo tomorrow.

Among the reasons for adopting the law is enabling the right for all persons who have the right to vote, and who had their place of residence in 1991 in a different municipality than their current place of residence, and who changed their place of residence in Bosnia and Herzegovina due to war operations, to still have the right to be registered on the voter list to vote in person or by mail, for the municipality of their 1991 residence, regardless of their current municipality of residence.

These rights would be exercisable until the full completion of Annex VII of the Dayton Peace Agreement, i.e., until the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina makes a decision on the completion of the return process.

This would represent only a right, and each person would decide individually and on a voluntary basis, in accordance with the regulation to be adopted by the Central Election Commission, whether they wish to register and vote for their 1991 municipality of residence or not. Likewise, each individual would independently decide whether to vote in person or by mail for their 1991 municipality of residence.

To avoid possible abuse of rights, each applicant would need to prove a valid basis for registration, through specific evidence, as would be prescribed by the Central Election Commission.

The Bill on Amendments to the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which introduces a new criminal offense of "attack on a returnee," should also be before the representatives.

The aim of the proposed amendments is to deter potential perpetrators of criminal offenses against returnees, which would ultimately ensure a greater degree of security for returnees throughout the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Also on the proposed agenda are the Bill on Amendments to the Law on Salaries and Other Benefits in Judicial and Prosecutorial Institutions at the BiH level, and the Bill on Amendments to the Law on Value Added Tax, which relate to the VAT refund on the purchase of the first property for all adult natural persons residing in the territory of BiH.