I have two sets of expectations for the upcoming election campaign and the elections themselves. My expectations from politicians and candidates is that they provide clear explanations on how they intend to tackle the most pressing problems facing citizens such as job creation as well as how they intend to unlock progress towards Euro-Atlantic integration?, said the High Representative to BiH Valentin Inzko in an interview with FENA.
He emphasized what we don’t need is another election campaign of scare-mongering and gutter politics.
‘’My expectations of voters are very simple – that they turn up at the ballot boxes on 12 October and vote. My message is: if you don’t vote, you let others decide your future for you. It is as simple as that’’, said Inzko.
He added he is encouraged by reports that several NGOs will actively monitor the election process all the way through from the campaign stage to the counting of ballots.
Commenting on the fact that there are more political candidates for individual offices, especially for the Bosniak Presidency member, Inzko finds that it is a positive trend to have genuine competition for posts.
‘’There are new faces, there are old faces. There are positive candidates and less positive ones. There are candidates who have fulfilled their promises and others who have not. There are many options out there. I hope that voters will look for concrete answers from politicians when they decide who to vote for – in particular answers on how politicians are going to solve key problems facing citizens in particular job creation and the fight against corruption’’, underlined Inzko.
Assessing whether the response of the current authorities to the natural disaster, which endangered tens of thousands of people in both BiH entities and caused damages in the amount of several billion BAM, was adequate, Inzko said that given the magnitude of the disaster, the relief effort was and remains a big logistical challenge.
‘’I remain shocked by what I saw when I visited as many municipalities as I could in the immediate aftermath of the floods. What was positive is that the people I met reached out to help each other – they were not interested in administrative boundaries and they were not interested in the names of the people they were helping – ethnic affiliation was not an issue. The people of this country want to come together to build a better future for themselves and their children and I have no doubt whatsoever that they are looking for politicians who can heal this country and make this happen rather than constantly opening up the wounds of the past so they can rule on the basis of fear’’, said the High Representative.
(Source: Fena)
