Changes in electoral legislation and the current political situation were the topics of a session of the presidency of the Croatian National Assembly (HNS) held in Mostar yesterday.
”We also discussed the last European People’s Party (EPP)Summit in Ljubljana and talks at this forum dedicated to the relationship between the European Union (EU) and the Western Balkans from the aspect of political stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and the need to adopt changes and amendments to the BiH Election Law. Last week I had separate talks with colleagues Izetbegovic and Dodik, precisely in terms of seeking a common term to put some of the important topics, such as the Election Law, on the agenda, and I can say that, currently, we are all looking for a way to make both legislative and executive government to work, ” the president of HNS, Dragan Covic, said after the session at the press conference.
He added that there was no major step forward in the talks and that it was not yet known whether the meeting of the three would be held with or without representatives of the international community.
”That part of the conversation lasts, there is no big step forward on the agreement, and the views are different, someone would like to sit exclusively with international representatives, while on the other hand, someone would like us that only we sittogether so we will see how it all ends. For now, we are sticking to this bilateral part, ” told Covic.
He pointed out that the so-called ”Fule’s model” (Stefan Fule) does not exist
”Today, we need the election of three members of the Presidency, legitimate representatives, and to include all judgments of the court in Strasbourg and the Constitutional Court of BiH. We also need a legitimate choice of all caucusesin the House of Peoples of Federation of BiH (FBiH) and there are a lot of solutions that we have offered. There is no ‘Fule model’, there is a story and different ideas, so someone called it a ‘Fule model’, but talking about something that doesn’t exist is pointless. We have five or six models on the table who can have similar principles if we want to elect, let’s say, members of the Presidency. If we want to ensure that we have a classic civic concept, then we simply need two constituencies in the Federation and we have solved everything, ” stated Covic.
The president of the HNS emphasized that it suits political Sarajevo to keep the situation in BiH as it is.
”It suits them because they are convinced, and they do not hide it when they say that they will welcome the next elections that they can elect not only a Croatian member of the Presidency but also the Croat people caucus since the concept is objectively set so that you in Gorazde can elect a Croat without a single Croatian vote. It’s the concept of “keep the status quo and we’ll play on”. The more extreme ones say it very clearly, the more polite ones cover it up a bit, but I think the aspirations are similar or the same. I believe that without the international community it is not possible to make changes to the Election Law, but it is up to us to solve the basis of the work, that is, to find a solution. The job of completing the Election Law process is the most vital political, and not just a political thing in BiH. It concerns absolutely everything and the sooner we realize that we will have to resolve it among ourselves, the easier it will be for us, ” Covic noted, Federalna writes.
E.Dz.
