It is the last day of negotiations on changes to the election legislation that have been taking place in Neum since Thursday. We should find out this afternoon what the negotiators, political leaders, experts and international mediators have managed to achieve. A press conference of international mediators Matthew Palmer and Angelina Eichhorst is scheduled for 1 p.m.
The course of negotiations so far, with moderate optimism, but also moderate information, was transmitted exclusively by international mediators, but it is still unknown whether the optimism shown is really based on progress in agreements and a possible agreement.
Apart from the news that the negotiations are going on, and that certain amendments to the Constitution are necessary in order to comply with the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, no significant news has been made.
While intensive and difficult negotiations on changes to the Election Law are being held behind closed doors at the Marea Hotel in Neum, and domestic leaders are currently banned from disclosing details to the public, part of yesterday‘s talks was found out from the diplomatic circles.
The most complicated knot is, it has been clear for a long time, the election of two members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) from the entities of Federation of BiH (FBiH) and the powers of the Federal House of Peoples. There is still no solution that the parties agree on.
However, there was talk about the integrity of the election process.
That is how the old question was raised again, and that is the way of electing the current convocation of the Central Election Commission (CEC). HDZ members suggested that members be elected in the future in the House of Peoples, and not in the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly.
There are also party disputes over the appointment of polling stations.
The OSCE and the ODIHR suggest that two-thirds of polling station committee members are elected bypolitical parties represented in government at a particular level for which elections are held, and one-third by other parties that are not represented.
What is interesting is the idea that the so-called epresented parties elect all members of the polling stations. It is also a proposal of the HDZ. Considering that there are parties in various communities in BiH that are predominantly represented, this would deny the right to “smaller” parties.
It would mean that the HDZ or some other party would have a dominant choice of polling station members in places where they have the majority.
According to the current Election Law on the appointment of polling stations, abuses are allowed because parties trade positions, so the proposal is to limit it by two-thirds electing parliamentary and one-third electing non-parliamentary, which is the best model to avoid or reduce it.
E.Dz.
Source: Klix.ba
