It is time for the BiH CEC to change the Instructions on filling the House of Peoples of the FBiH - Schmidt's legacy makes a mockery of democracy!

The disastrous decisions of the OHR, i.e., High Representative Christian Schmidt from October 2022, could and should be corrected by new instructions from the Central Election Commission of BiH.

As a reminder, after the scandalous amendments to the Election Law by Schmidt, on the night when the results of the General Elections 2022 were awaited, the Central Election Commission of BiH adopted the Instructions on filling the House of Peoples of the FBiH in November of the same year.

CEC BiH Instructions from November 2022 (Source: Official Gazette of BiH)

These instructions were a supporting element of the apartheid package imposed in the FBiH entity by Schmidt and the US Embassy. Therefore, it is time to consider new instructions for filling the House of Peoples of the FBiH based on the 2026 election results.

If we look at the distribution of delegate mandates, it is quite clear that the need for this exists more than ever, because the current instructions nullify the meaning of democracy, as well as the elections themselves, especially when considering the practice of filling the houses of peoples, both at the FBiH entity level and at the BiH level, to which two-thirds of delegates are elected from the FBiH.

Some examples from the OHR-CEC Instructions from 2022 are truly devastating.

Canton 10 had a population of 84,127 inhabitants according to the 2013 census. According to the estimate of the Federal Bureau of Statistics, as of June 30, 2025, there are 76,106 inhabitants in this canton. According to this estimate, the number of citizens eligible to vote is around 55,000.

On the other hand, Canton Sarajevo had a population of 413,593 inhabitants according to the 2013 census, while the Federal Bureau's estimate states that as of June 30, 2025, there were 422,099 citizens living in CS.

Estimate of the number of inhabitants in the FBiH (Federal Bureau of Statistics)

In Canton Sarajevo, according to these data, about 350,000 citizens are eligible to vote.

And this is how, according to the CEC BiH Instructions drafted in the OHR, delegates are appointed from the aforementioned cantons:

Canton 10 provides a total of 9 delegates (3 Croats, 4 Serbs, 1 Bosniak, 1 Other), while Canton Sarajevo provides 12 delegates (4 Bosniaks, 1 Croat, 5 Serbs, 2 Others). Thus, CS, which has three times the voter base, provides only three more delegates than Canton 10.

Let's take Tuzla Canton as an example and compare it with West Herzegovina Canton. Tuzla Canton had 445,028 inhabitants according to the 2013 census, while according to the estimate as of June 30, 2025, it has 427,983 inhabitants, or approximately 370,000 citizens eligible to vote.

On the other hand, West Herzegovina Canton had 94,898 inhabitants in 2013, and according to the 2025 estimate, this number is 92,560, while the number of voters is slightly less than 80,000.

TK provides a total of 10 delegates (5 Bosniaks, 1 Croat, 3 Serbs, 1 Other), while ZHK provides 7 delegates (4 Croats, 1 Serb, 1 Bosniak, 1 Other).

However, one example is an even more striking proof of the inconsistency of such a mandate division, even more devastating than the comparison between cantons. Sarajevo municipality of Novi Grad had 118,553 inhabitants according to the 2013 census. According to the 2025 estimate, this municipality has 123,828 inhabitants. Therefore, Sarajevo's Novi Grad is far ahead of West Herzegovina Canton, Canton 10, and Posavina Canton in terms of population.

It is interesting that when you add up the population of Canton 10 and Posavina Canton, the sum is not even close to the population of the municipality of Novi Grad. And these two cantons provide 9 and 4 delegates, respectively, a total of 13 delegates, which is more than Canton Sarajevo, one municipality of which is more populous than both these cantons combined.

Even in 2022, it was clear that the Instructions on filling the House of Peoples of the FBiH were completely misguided and written at the HDZ headquarters, and implemented through the OHR. However, if we are thinking well for all citizens, and especially for the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and if democracy, the European path, and the rule of law are our priority, then it is time for changes.

It is worth recalling that the current Instructions were adopted with two votes against, because clearly not everyone bowed their heads so easily and went against common sense and democratic foundations, accepting what Schmidt imposed.

There is no doubt that the CEC BiH should adopt Instructions in which the number of mandates per canton will be distributed in relation to the total population of the FBiH entity. Thus, each canton would provide a number of mandates according to its total population.

There are speculations these days that Schmidt will fly out of Sarajevo for the last time as High Representative after the October General Elections, so it is time for reason to prevail in the CEC of BiH and for the absurd impositions of the German diplomat with a political address in Kneza Domagoja bb Street, Mostar, to be corrected.