The high representative of the international community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, said that he hopes that the domestic political forces will reach an agreement on technical changes to the BiH Election Law, which should ensure greater transparency of the election process, and that he will not have to use the Bonn powers.
In an interview with Večernji list, Schmidt spoke about changes to the Election Law, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s European path and threats of secession from Republika Srpska.
“Normally, I am a pragmatic person, but trust in elections exists only if it is ensured that there are no frauds. We have to be really honest with each other in that part. This issue has nothing to do with the issue of discrimination against certain groups or nations,” said the high representative.
As for the changes in the method of electing the members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which the parties with a Croatian sign insist on, there will apparently be nothing of that in 2024:
“These are complex constitutional and legal issues. It is something that needs to be discussed, worked on along with all the other issues. Now I will mention the Sejdić-Finci judgment and others. I understand that these questions are mentioned, but what will be the answer to these questions is a matter of negotiations that should be conducted in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We were in Neum almost two years ago and we have come a long way. However, if we want to fix something now, then it can only refer to technical issues. So, this is about who will count the votes at the polling stations. We left the possibility of electronic voter identification with a fingerprint. All the other things I don’t think we should touch on now. There, I said, not only to the Croats but to everyone I talked to, that this topic is not on the agenda when it comes to the integrity of the election process,” he said.
When it comes to the European path of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the fulfillment of the conditions set by the European Union, Schmidt stated that the responsibility rests exclusively with domestic politicians.
“I think there are a lot of prerequisites that are already being worked on. But what is important, these things must end. It is always better if they are made by politicians, that is, those who have appropriate mandates,” said Schmidt.
Commenting on Milorad Dodik’s threats to secede Republika Srpska from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Schmidt said that they are a sign of “deep confusion” and “helplessness”.
He added that no one questions the existence of Republika Srpska, just as the existence of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina or Brčko District is not questioned.
“Here we need to concentrate on important things, and that means also in the European Union when it comes to accession negotiations, the basis is Dayton. Today, we can criticize as much as we want, and I am not the first to wish that some things in the Dayton Peace Agreement were done differently and better. But that’s it. I think we have to send positive messages from here. When the Dayton Agreement was created 30 years ago, it was the end of war, the end of killing and violence. In that context, I can say that it was a super successful model. We discuss many issues, but this is democracy,” said the high representative.
When asked if he thinks that there could be new conflicts in Southeastern Europe in the context of Russian aggression against Ukraine, Schmidt answered that Bosnia and Herzegovina is not threatened by any new war, even though the whole world has become insecure.
“I think that what must be done now and why the European perspective of Bosnia and Herzegovina is important is that we must say that this country is part of Europe and the security of Bosnia and Herzegovina is in the interest of the Europeans and the North Atlantic Alliance. I don’t know what Moscow is up to. We must establish that a lot still depends on whether Moscow will be allowed to overrun and occupy Ukraine. After that, who could say that Ukraine will be the last country we talk about?,” High Representative Christian Schmidt said in an interview for Večernji list.
