Joint press conference of opposition and NGOs: Mostar – a city without elections, who is the famous 'someone' blocking everything

Opposition parties – SDP BiH, DF, SBiH, HDZ 1990 and non-governmental organisations will hold a press conference tomorrow, 11 August at 11 a.m. on the plateau in front of the City Hall in Mostar, reports the Patria news agency. The topic of the conference is: Mostar – a city without elections.

Local elections in Mostar were last held in 2008. Currently, there is no City Council, and all power is in the hands of Mayor Ljubo Bešlić. Several proposals for amendments to the BiH Election Law regarding Mostar have "fallen" in the BiH Parliament. 

When summing up the statements of key political actors in the soap opera surrounding the organisation of elections in Mostar and resolving the city's status, at first glance it seems everyone is „for“. And there is always that „but“.

In fact, everyone is for elections on 2 October, but each has their own proposal from which they do not budge an inch, and the biggest price is paid by the citizens of Mostar. On the issue of Mostar, a political battle is being waged for a unified BiH. Hence the disagreement among key players, who, going in circles, claim that „someone does not want elections to be held on 2 October“. Who is that „someone“? It is precisely that famous „someone“, clear to both the domestic public and the international community, who is blocking the adoption of a decision and the elections in Mostar. 

US Ambassador to BiH Maureen Cormack organised a meeting on 21 July at her residence with delegations of the ruling political parties in the Federation of BiH, led by SDA leader Bakir Izetbegović, HDZ BiH leader Dragan Čović and SBB leader Fahrudin Radončić.

After three hours of talks, no agreement was reached. The Ambassador did not hide her disappointment, saying that “political parties have not shown a willingness to set aside their established positions“.

Then, on 2 August, Ambassador Cormack and UK Ambassador to BiH Edward Ferguson warned that the most responsible for the chaos in Mostar are SDA and HDZ BiH, i.e. Izetbegović and Čović.

-Other parties, independent candidates and civil society also have an important role in this process, and our two embassies are in constant contact with them, including representatives of the Serb people. But, we must be clear – HDZ BiH and SDA are the most responsible for the chaos in which Mostar currently finds itself. The primary responsibility lies with HDZ BiH and SDA to find a solution, the ambassadors stated.

They warned that the 60-day deadline set by the CEC as the final deadline for organising elections in Mostar on 2 October has expired, and criticised state representatives who are on collective leave and have not amended the BiH Election Law to enable the holding of elections.

-That is a disgrace. But we will not stop until an agreement is reached. Our first priority is that Mostar remains one, unified, multi-ethnic city. But we also want the citizens of Mostar to be able to vote this year. Useful information is coming from the CEC that elections can be scheduled whenever an agreement is reached. For these elections to be held, only one thing needs to happen – the decision of the Constitutional Court must be implemented. That is a requirement arising from the Dayton Agreement, and that is why we are involved in this process.

The current situation suits politicians on both sides. But, enough is enough. It is time for the leaders of HDZ BiH and SDA to show that their often-expressed commitment to European standards and values is not just empty talk. It is time for political courage and responsibility. It is time to hear the voices of the disenfranchised citizens of Mostar. It is time for elections, the ambassadors' comment states.

After the meeting at Ambassador Cormack's in July, SBB leader Fahrudin Radončić told reporters:

- I must say that the SDA - SBB coalition had a unified stance this time as well.  Unfortunately, the positions of HDZ were not such that we could agree to those solutions. We will work very hard in the next day or two or three to try to achieve positive results in this time crunch.  

A few days ago, HDZ BiH leader Dragan Čović said that elections in Mostar can still be held.

-I informed the public at the beginning of the year that the negotiations between HDZBiH and SDA were nearing completion. But there are always some additions, details that return the entire process to the beginning. It seems to me that someone is very keen for the elections not to be held on 2 October. Elections held on any other date would be classic engineering, and HDZ will not allow that.

For practical reasons, we proposed five electoral units and 35 councillors, 15 from the Bosniak ranks, 15 from the Croatian ranks, 4 from the Serb ranks, and one from the ranks of the unaffiliated.

In that composition, all key decisions would be made by a two-thirds majority, and there would be no possibility of outvoting. The City Council would elect the mayor. We had an agreement for a meeting on Mostar in recent days, but due to events over the weekend (tightening of relations with SDA due to the Dodik-Izetbegović agreement, editor's note) that fell through, so I fear our time has run out, said Čović.

The first man of SDA, Bakir Izetbegović, says his party has worked hard to overcome the problem.

-We included our partners from SBB in the negotiations, together with HDZ we came close to a solution on several occasions. However, it is obvious that HDZ BiH is in a comfortable position with the current situation, and therefore they persistently delay negotiations. Representatives of the international community, on the other hand, are very interested in reaching an agreement, trying to mediate, striving to keep the process of searching for a solution alive. However, it is evident that they are not fully ready to accept and bear their share of responsibility for the current situation, to which the OHR as a key institution largely contributed, warned Izetbegović.

For the coming week, Čović announced a meeting with Izetbegović and Radončić on the topic of the Coordination Mechanism. "Županije" (cantons) must be listed by name, all ten, in the document. What the HDZ BiH leader insisted on has now been accepted by everyone.

 Will they „remember“ Mostar as well, and demonstrate, as in the case of "županije", that everything is possible when there is a will and a clearly defined political goal, or again the famous „someone does not want elections to be held on 2 October“?