Changes in the Central Election Commission: Was the Mostar Issue Resolved Yesterday, and Was the Power of Blackmail Taken from HDZ and SNSD?

By Amina Čorbo-Zećo

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All the panic of the Croatian Democratic Union regarding the dismissal of members of the Central Election Commission of BiH is reflected in the sentence of the Collegium of the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliament, Borjana Krišto: „You can finish everything in this house, but I believe this is not just a political crisis but a question of the future of BiH", Krišto said.

The future of BiH is not in question, but the power of HDZ and SNSD in the Central Election Commission is in question. That was the ultimate goal, although such a decision brought many problems, even within the SDP, because some members objected to the vote of SDP representatives, as party cadres, now from SDS and PDP, have returned to the CEC, while those from SDA remained.

Vojin Mijatović, vice-president of SDP, resigned from his membership in the SDP Cadre Commission as well as from membership in all working groups, stating that the law says the CEC is an independent institution, and that party members cannot be there.

He said he would request a session of the SDP Presidency to inform them how the SDP Club voted, if they did - why.

The goal, according to Patria's interlocutors, was for HDZ and SNSD to no longer have a dominant majority in the CEC; they had four to three, which was critical, especially regarding decisions about Mostar.

Deputies adopted a decision terminating the mandate of Ahmet Šantić, Suad Arnautović, Branko Petrić, Novak Božičković, and electing Ahmet Šantić, Suad Arnautović, Vanja Bjelica - Prutina, and Jovan Kalaba as members of the CEC.

From the old composition of the CEC, Stjepan Mikić, Irena Hadžiabdić, and Vlado Rogić remain. DF proposed replacing Stjepan Mikić as well, but the proposal did not receive the necessary entity majority. SDA, although not agreed upon, supported both the SDS and DF proposals, but ultimately, for Mikić to be replaced by Željko Bakalar, at the next session in the second round of voting, two-thirds of the deputies must not vote against.

Milorad Dodik and Fahrudin Radončić also sent strong reactions to this decision, considering it preparation for election theft. SBB President Radončić has already questioned the coalition with SDA, while the deputy president of HDZ BiH Krišto told SDA not to count on their support in future processes.

Whether this change in the CEC has weakened the sharp power of HDZ, which they have thanks to blackmail, will be revealed quickly. One obstacle has been removed, the passage of decisions through the CEC will be greater, so we might soon get the first good news for the people of Mostar.

In any case, the latest developments prove that the CEC is deeply politically dependent, and that only the policies controlling its members are being replaced, based on the principle: it's good as long as I'm the one deciding there; if someone else takes over the majority – then we will talk about political influence!

Such a stormy reaction shows that everyone is deeply aware of the power of the CEC, and even more aware of the power that comes with controlling this institution.