Schmidt monitors political parties' work on Election Law: Do not link integrity and implementation of key rulings

(Patria) - High Representative Christian Schmidt welcomes the intensified efforts of domestic political actors, including the BiH Parliament, to jointly adopt the necessary amendments to the Election Law following his call in December, in order to ensure the integrity of the elections. It is the duty of responsible politicians in BiH to achieve a concrete result after nearly 15 years of debate, the OHR announced today.

"There is no doubt that this is also expected by citizens and European partners. The right of citizens to be certain that their vote counts must be strictly respected. This should be in effect for the municipal elections in October this year.

High Representative Schmidt confirms that his expectations remain unchanged. Regardless of the outcome of the parliamentary procedure, it is imperative that any adopted solution contains the recommendations of international bodies, including GRECO, OSCE, ODIHR and the Venice Commission. These recommendations serve as key guidelines for standards that ensure a transparent, fair and credible electoral process.

Emphasising the urgency and importance of these reforms, High Representative Schmidt stresses that the primary goal is to restore voter confidence in the electoral process. The adopted reforms should not be aimed at expanding the influence of political parties, but should, above all, empower voters and give them the opportunity to choose candidates within an electoral process they trust. Sovereignty in democratic countries belongs to voters, not political parties.

The focus must be on creating an electoral framework that fosters trust and ensures that the will of the people is expressed as it is. The integrity and impartiality of the Central Election Commission and its members, as well as the ability to fulfil their legal obligations, must be guaranteed. High Representative Schmidt will continue consultations on this topic.

In this regard, the High Representative emphasises that he is carefully monitoring the work of all involved political parties. This activity is an integral part of efforts to ensure that the actions being taken are aligned with the principles set out in Annex 3 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace (GFAP), particularly the principles of transparency, accountability and the best interest of the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Increasing the electoral threshold should not affect the possibility of representation of smaller constituent peoples.

Political actors should avoid linking technical measures of electoral integrity with the implementation of key court rulings, which must be implemented but require broad consultations and support. If comprehensive and sustainable solutions to these key constitutional issues cannot be achieved in the short time available before the decision on European integration, then the Election Law should be amended to cover other issues, such as the introduction of technologies including electronic counting of ballots and transmission of results, or the qualifications and integrity of members of polling boards and rules guaranteeing fair competition in elections", the OHR announced.