The recipe for the election battle: Either everyone at the negotiating table, or no one!

Amina Čorbo Zećo

The US and European diplomats Matthew Palmer and Angelina Eichhorst will soon arrive in BiH for a new round of talks with representatives of political parties, aimed at reaching an agreement on amendments to BiH's Election Law.

Earlier, they had to cancel one visit, because all parties that are considered pro-Bosnian expressed a unified stance that there would be no negotiations while the blockade of BiH institutions lasted and while Milorad Dodik pursued a separatist policy and threatened with the secession.

The SDA issued a call for a unified, concrete and decisive political response from pro-Bosnian political forces.

‘Such an approach is needed in the talks on the reform of the BiH Constitution and electoral legislation, as well as a joint response to the dilemma of whether to discuss this topic at all until the work of state institutions is unblocked and the attack on the constitutional order is stopped’, the SDA officials stated on the 13th December last year.

The circumstances that led to the termination of the negotiations in which Dragan Čović maintained a maximalist approach demanding everything, and with the wholehearted help of Dodik, remain the same. The blockade of BiH institutions is still going on, and Dodik is not giving up a millimeter of his ideas on disempowering BiH institutions and return of competencies to the Republika Srpska.

HDZ and SNSD behave the same way in this situation, it is only that the balance of power in the pro-Bosnian bloc is changing, which can be dangerous for the state of BiH!

There are messages from the SDA that they will take part in the talks; first Safet Softić rudely announced a compromise (and it is worth mentioning that he announced a withdrawal from the negotiations last year), and then messages arrived from the media close to the SDA that pro Bosnian parties, if they do not get involved in the negotiations, they will do the same as Milorad Dodik.

But it is clear to any normal person that it is not the same to reject Palmer in the negotiations and adopt conclusions in the RS Assembly that overthrow the state or do not recognize the High Representative in BiH and belittle his important role.

What is really going on here?

An explanation of the current situation should be also sought in the so-called non-paper that Palmer handed out at embassies in Sarajevo, and the plan was to 'focus the parties on areas of consensus'. After that, it was stated that the SDP, NiP, SBB and NS agree to negotiate on the basis of conditional models and demonstrate that no party in FBiH, except the DF, shares the SDA's insistence that the debate on electoral reform be tied to the functionality of the Federation of BiH.

The goal was to distance civic options from those on the right. And now the answer to the key question is very clear. If the pro-Bosnian parties do not have a single goal, a compromise that would suit Čović would mean the end of the state and the introduction of apartheid, i.e. 'warming up' relations between Bosniaks and Croats, but also the end of democracy in BiH.

The SDP has remained firm in its position, which is justified, that there should be no negotiations because there is no climate for it and BiH institutions are still blocked, but now another question arises. Is it wise to let the SDA negotiate on its own, and neither the NIP nor the SBB will refuse to leave the negotiating table! Moving away from the table of civic options would still mean that Čović can reach the goal easier.

Because, the change of heart within the SDA about participating in negotiations means that they are still ready for compromise and possible concessions, in which case someone must prevent them from doing so. Some speculate that the SDA would not call others to witness their betrayal. That is why claiming that something has already been agreed at this moment is dangerous, that is, all those who know that ‘something has been agreed’ are obliged to tell the public what, and ultimately prevent it!

Because after this battle, all the noise and triumph like ‘we told you that they have already agreed’ will be irrelevant.

The recipe is very simple - either everyone at the negotiating table, or no one!

Anything different would mean the realization of Čović's plan, whom Dodik helps a lot, and that is why he is ready, along with the performance with Vučić, to return to the institutions of BiH!