Because of Čović, he changes his mind: Schmidt welcomes negotiations, but no longer claims there will be elections

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - High Representative Christian Schmidt, with two statements in about ten days, before the first and second meetings in Neum and Sarajevo on electoral and constitutional reform, has caused some confusion. When he announced on January 28 that there would be elections in 2022 regardless of whether the current Election Law was adopted, the criticisms of the President of HDZ BiH, Dragan Čović, followed.

It is evident that a conversation took place between Čović and Schmidt, which Dragan Čović confirmed at a press conference on Monday. He said he spoke with Schmidt on Saturday and presented his objections. Although he did not elaborate much, in an interview for Večernji list published on Saturday, February 5, Čović said:

“High Representative Christian Schmidt, or his office, issued a statement during the negotiations in Neum that there would be elections regardless of the outcome of the negotiations. Our question was why such a statement at that moment. I am sure that Mr. Schmidt did not have bad intentions, but such a statement could only encourage those who do not want an agreement,” Čović told Večernji.ba.

In his statement last night, Schmidt stated that he welcomes the continuation of negotiations on the Election Law.

"The amended Election Law must improve the transparency and integrity of elections. The representation of the three constituent peoples, along with Others, in the institutions of the state and the two entities should be accepted by all. It is the responsibility of those involved in resolving these issues in BiH to reach a consensus for the benefit of all citizens," the statement on the official OHR Twitter profile read.

Schmidt welcomed the talks, although most participants advocate principles completely contrary to EU rulings, European and German standards. Even the Bundestag rapporteur for the Western Balkans, Adis Ahmetović, stated that elections in BiH would be held regardless of whether an agreement on amendments to the law was reached.

Schmidt's statement lacks the sentence from the previous statement that elections in October would be held regardless of the outcome of the negotiations. Čović's influence on the high representative can be read precisely there.

If Schmidt gave in to Čović's pressure and changed his mind, what can we expect in the case of Milorad Dodik and his secessionist policies that have been going on for months, and he is keeping the country in blockade, supported by both Čović and HDZ.