STATEMENT BY CARL BILDT, HIGH REPRESENTATIVE Sarajevo, 22 October 1996. With the postponement of the local elections, the international community will now be in a better position to assure local elections according to the higher standards which we are seeking. I thus welcome the decision by Ambassador Frowick today, and commend him and the OSCE Mission for the efforts they have already made to prepare these important elections. The Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council will now consider the different options for the local elections at its meeting in Brussels on 7 November in preparation for the Ministerial Meeting in Paris on 14 November. These local elections will now be a centrepiece of the international efforts in Bosnia next year, and we firmly expect the parties to cooperate fully with the efforts to make them as free and as fair as possible. OHR Speech by the High Representative Sarajevo, 22 October 1996.