Coalition between Komsic and SDA would be a betrayal of electoral body

By: Armin Aljovic

Zeljko Komsic has won 225,000 votes for the Presidency BiH, which is 80,000 more than Dragan Covic, the HDZ BiH candidate.

Although there's no evidence as regards the ethnic structure of BH voters, it is widely believed that Komsic gained support from a good deal of Bosniak voters, which helped him beat Covic. The on-going political soap opera built around Covic's announcement that he would block the government because of his defeat, as well as a fierce diplomatic offensive of the neighboring Croatia against BiH in Brussels, can be followed in media.

Covic's electoral loss has been presented by HDZ in a grotesque manner, as a desire of Bosniak extreme circles to outvote Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition, HDZ BiH brags about gaining confidence of more than 80% of Bosnian Croats, which, however, did not protect them from the raising Bosniak nationalism that is, according to them, also helped by some international factors. According to Covic and Plenkovic, the future election law in BiH should be arranged in the way that allows the Croat seat in the Presidency BiH to be reserved exclusively for HDZ candidates.

Having said that, the situation could be observed far more objectively. Considering the fact that 52% of BH citizens took part in the elections, we may draw a conclusion that Covic could not have gotten support from 80% of Croats in BiH as he says; the fact is that less than 50% of Bosnian Croats have given their vote to his politics of division.

Even though Covic presents his HDZ as the only 'bearer of European values', the recent elections have revealed a new dimension of political mood of BH nations. Desire for absolute domination among the voters of one nation cannot be a paradigm of European values. Contrary to totalitarian ideologies, and according to both God's and modern secular laws, a society should aspire to pluralism, diverse interests and openness. A nation free of the left wing, the center, or any other political discourse except for HDZ, cannot be a goal of either civilization or Europe.

At the last elections SDP won 145,453 votes for the Federal Parliament. Democratic Front of Zeljko Komsic won 93,696 votes. SBB got vote of confidence of 70,000 citizens, Nasa Stranka about 50,000. HDZ refers to those parties as 'Bosniak left'. Even if HDZ's theory was correct, that should not be interpreted as an offence to Bosniaks and the said parties. Contrary to HDZ's totalitarism, Bosniaks have shown pluralism and a genuine desire for a civic society with equal rights for all. Only such Bosnia and Herzegovina could enter the European Union, instead of ethnically divided state according to Covic. If HDZ leader wants an anti-European election law, then all his statements about the future of BiH in the European Union are questionable and hypocritical.

That has been picked up by most of the world media. Austrian Standard wrote that the election law had to be changed long time ago and its journalist Adelheid Wolfl said that the HDZ leader thwarted any agreement as 'obviously he knew that would get a more powerful instrument this way'.

'He still holds the reins', observed the worried European diplomats in Sarajevo, referring to the chief of right wing HDZ BiH, writes Standard Deutsche Welle.

'Covic is setting conditions: The Election law has to be changed the way he and his party want, otherwise he will block everything', writes the Austrian newspaper.

Whatever turn the political life in BiH may take, the left wing has received a clear message from its voters – it mustn't give up on the civil Bosnia and Herzegovina. And it mustn't enter any coalition with SDA as it would pay a high price for it at the next elections. Had Bosniaks been pleased with the politics of SDA, they would not have given a good deal of their votes to Zeljko Komsic and other left parties. Any coalition between civil parties with the nationalist SDA or nationalist parties of other peoples, would be a betrayal of voters.

About 360,000 voters or app. 36% voters who voted for Federal Parliament have given their votes to the left parties, and only 25% to SDA and 14% to HDZ. The left parties have won 35% support vote at the State Parliament and the Federation.

HDZ has been using every single media weapon to attack Komsic. Which is why any 'coming together' of his DF and SDA would seem quite absurd.