Milorad Dodik, leader of the SNSD and member of the presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), announced the possibility of boycotting the elections if foreigners interfere in that process, but opposition parties claim that it will not happen and that elections which will change the government will be held.
Speaking about the changes to the Election Law of BiH, Dodik pointed out that Bosniaks will not allow Croats to exercise the rights they have and that it is possible that Croats will not go to the upcoming elections because of that.
“If there is an interference of foreigners in the work of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of BiH, Republika Srpska (RS) will not go to the elections either. We are looking for a completely neutral electoral structure and a situation to participate in,” Dodik said, adding that it is possible for RS opposition to participate in such elections and that the ruling coalition can prevent such elections from being conducted, and that it is enough that municipalities do not form local election commissions.
When asked whether the elections should be boycotted if foreigners interfere in the mentioned process, Nenad Stevandic, the president of the United Srpska (Ujedinjena Srpska), said that a broader dialogue between all political actors in the RS should be opened and that an agreement was important.
“In any case, that kind of decision would require the absolute consensus of everyone in the RS, otherwise the question of the legitimacy of elected Serbs in joint institutions would be raised,” Stevandic emphasized.
RS opposition initially refused not to participate in the elections. However, they agree with Dodik that the issue of voting by mail should be resolved because the possibility of manipulating and buying those votes is huge.
The opposition parties do not rule out the possibility that the SNSD and HDZ will boycott the elections, but for the reason, as they claim, that they are aware that they will lose power over them, and not because of some interference from the side.
Zeljko Bakalar, the president of the CEC of BiH, stated that the announcements of the boycott do not represent a boycott, but political ideas that would lead to institutional obstruction of the election process, and that is a significant difference.
“Given the current political situation in the country, such ideas are worrying, but at the moment, while they are only in the idea phase, it is not something we as a body of the election administration should look at,” Bakalar explained.
Bakalar told that there were issues during the organization of the previous election cycle, but that with the help of friends from the international community, it was all brought to an end.
E.Dz.
Source: Nezavisne
