DO IT NOW, OR HE WILL Schmidt calls on Parliament to adopt the Election Law and strengthen electoral integrity

(Patria) - Christian Schmidt, the High Representative in BiH, emphasized today in his address to the public that processes must be accelerated, and called on the authorities to adopt the Election Law to strengthen electoral integrity.

"There is a lot of work to be done. I am not here today on behalf of the authorities. I see myself as someone who takes care of the interests of the citizens of BiH. Therefore, all those who are appointed and elected to serve the citizens of BiH, and not to serve their own interests. Therefore, I want to emphasize two key needs. First, sovereignty must be respected, and the Election Law must be precise and transparent," said Schmidt.

Authorities are constantly reminded of this need, Schmidt emphasized, speaking about strengthening electoral integrity.

"So I think we must expect the political class to respond to the questions that people are asking, and it's not about complicated things. The citizens' vote must be respected as it is intended to be given, not as some would like.

This is something that cannot be bypassed in a country that plans to join the European community. Citizens must be given the opportunity for fair and honest elections.

"Measures against electoral fraud must be strengthened. We lose if we don't act, we lose voters' trust in the electoral process. That is the worst in a democracy. Therefore, I call on everyone to take this matter seriously. I will work on it, and you will hear what needs to be done.

Changes must occur; unfortunately, some parts of these recommendations have not been implemented over the years, and those that have been, have been implemented through my decisions. I have respect for the parliament, but this is my final call for it to make the decision itself.

If not, I will set deadlines, and I will consider it a lack of respect for voters. Therefore, I will appeal to everyone to strengthen the integrity of the electoral process. I would prefer domestic actors to find a solution, but if that doesn't happen, it must happen now. I would then consider it in the next two to three weeks. We would all like to see a result. If it doesn't happen, we cannot rely on promises – next week, no, it must be this week," added Schmidt.

He spoke about the introduction of new technologies and the supervision of the electoral process.

"Polling station committees should be professionalized, and the chairperson of the committee must be a neutral person. We need to change the mechanism for electing these people, and it will no longer be a job that political parties will do," said Schmidt.

He also said that it should start now, and that those who think the job can be finished in May are mistaken.

"We must provide opportunities for a large number of people involved in the electoral process," said Schmidt.