Presidents of SDA party Bakir Izetbegovic and HDZ BiH party Dragan Covic left the building of the EU Delegation yesterday evening.
Izetbegovic said that a partial solution had been found, which was accepted by the SDA, but he could not reveal whether there were others – first of all, he was referring to the HDZ BiH.
This is a proposal of the Venice Commission.
“The president of the Venice Commission, on behalf of the mediators from the international community, presented proposals related to the House of Peoples at the state level, the Presidency
He said that these proposals are a partial solution that still needs to be worked on, and pointed out: “There are no two constituencies.”
“There are no two constituencies. One constituency is the FBiH, the other is the RS,” Izetbegovic said, adding that negotiations would continue.
He reiterated that he had asked the international community to involve other parties in the negotiations. “We do not agree with asymmetric solutions,” he said, alluding to proposals on how to elect members of the presidency and the competencies of the houses of the people.
The asymmetries in the Election Law are especially related to the possible indirect election of members of the Presidency of BiH from the Federation, and direct from another entity.
Earlier, the President of the HDZ BiH party, Dragan Covic, stated that he absolutely believes in the possibility of an agreement with the President of the SDA party, Bakir Izetbegovic, on the reform of the Election Law of BiH.
In an interview with “Vecernji list”, Covic said that he was an “optimistic realist” and that an agreement on this reform would help relax relations in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“That would be a good start. But crucial. This would then give a synergy that would be positive on the road to the EU. Then they could build a more rational system because the current one is too expensive. When a great friend of our homeland, Mathew Palmer, recently informed me about some possible solutions, I told him that if we want rationality with two areas, then we do not need 11 governments, parliaments, judicial institutions. It can be two. But it is too early to talk about it. I think that the talks with Izetbegovic are going in the right direction. There is a complete understanding that Croats should not be elected representatives in either the House of Peoples or the Presidency. Taking into account the judgments of the European Court and the Constitutional Court of BiH. The Central Election Commission, thus illegal and illegitimate, cannot be a legislator. And that is the goal of some not to implement changes to the Election Law in order for the CEC to arbitrate,” said Covic.
“He rejected the assessments that he was playing a “double game with Dodik against the Bosniak leader”.
”There are no double games, no games when it comes to the politics of the Croatian people. Our goal is clear. For us, it is my home, my people, my BiH. We will do everything to ensure that BiH functions as a normal European state, and that it may be reorganized along the way by an agreement between the three nations. At the same time, we expect that Croats will be guaranteed full equality and legitimate political representation. In that spirit, we talked to Mr. Izetbegovic,” – said Covic.
When asked if he sees BiH as a state in which the three sides have agreed on everything and are moving together towards this future, Covic answered that this is the only way.
”Friends from outside are welcome. But as long as they make solutions that have other messages, they are not welcome. The US administration has done the most, but we must have the same attitude towards the administrations of the EU, Turkey, Russia and China. They can all be our friends, but it is important that we are not their tools within BiH, protecting this country together. We have to work together to be 3-0. It must always be so. While I was in the Presidency, all decisions were made unanimously. There was never a re-vote. That is the way we should work in BiH,” said Dragan Covic in an interview with Vecernji list.
Source: Federalna
