Representatives of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) and the Croat Democratic Union (HDZ B&H), led by party leaders Bakir Izetbegović and Dragan Čović, discussed last night in Sarajevo the possibilities of amending the B&H Election Law and issues related to the Federation of B&H.
As it was said after the meeting, the two groups worked in parallel, one on the issues of the Federation of B&H, the establishment of a new structure of government at the FB&H level and the accumulated problems in the Federation of B&H.
The second group discussed the possibilities of amending the B&H Election Law, i.e. the implementation of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights and the B&H Constitutional Court.
SDA President Bakir Izetbegović said that he also had a conversation with the United States Special Representative for the Western Balkans Matthew Palmer in the meantime, who also met with HDZ B&H leader Dragan Čović and expressed support for “meaningful electoral reform” in B&H, which must include “limited constitutional reform.”
-They insist on the establishment of an inter-ministerial working group that will do this job and only two parties are working on it at the moment. Palmer insisted that an urgent session of the joint Collegium of the two houses of the B&H Parliamentary Assembly be held, and that an inter-ministerial working group be established. I asked him if that meant waiting for meetings, then expanding it. He answered that they expect us to continue working and to define the outlines of the solution- said Izetbegović.
Speaking about the meetings of SDA and HDZ B&H, he stated that they are trying to harmonize two principles that this country is grounded on and the way it is functioning – the civil and ethnic principles.
Asked if there is anything new after today's meeting, the SDA president answered in the affirmative, emphasizing that HDZ understands "that we will not be able to do it without constitutional changes, certain minor changes in terms of amendments and that we will not be able to do it in the Federation of B&H or at the state level."
According to him, international representatives also said that it will not go that way.
-They insist that the CEC representatives be included in that inter-ministerial working group. There are some changes- says Izetbegović.
As for the FB&H level, he said they would try to establish a new structure.
HDZ B&H President Dragan Čović said that two inter-party teams were working yesterday - one concerned the FB&H level of government and all the problems that have been opened between the two parties in the last few years, which they have failed to solve. The second team worked on the election legislation, and today there should be a continuation of work on 14 priorities when it comes to the candidate status of B&H.
It seems to me, he stated, that we have somehow completed that first phase last night.
Speaking about the B&H Election Law, the Presidency and the House of Peoples, he said that bodies that could help them would be involved, and that "in one phase, at the beginning of the fifth month, all other parliamentary parties interested in that would be involved, to find a solution".
He added that he believes that the solutions they offered some time ago to both international representatives and the SDA will get a response from the SDA very soon.
