Representatives of the political parties in the Mostar City Council will meet tomorrow in Mostar for the second time to discuss changes to the City’s electoral system mandated by the BiH Constitutional Court.
The OHR welcomes this second multi-party meeting with the aim of finding a compromise solution to implement rulings of the BiH Constitutional Court in relation to Mostar’s electoral system.
Implementing the Constitutional Court’s rulings is vital both for the Rule of Law and ensuring that Mostarians are able to vote in October’s local elections along with all other voters.
Political parties are running out of time to meet their responsibilities to implement the Constitutional Court’s ruling. With municipal elections due to be announced in early May, very few days remain for all election legislation to be agreed so that the Central Election Commission is able to announce elections.
Party leaders have given their party representatives in Mostar this task. The OHR looks to these politicians to discuss and move towards a concrete agreement when they meet for the second time tomorrow and in the coming days.
If Mostar’s politicians are to maximize their chances of success they will need to focus on the limited changes to Mostar’s electoral system required by the BiH Constitutional Court.
The High Representative has made it clear that no one should expect the International Community to do this job for them, and that no solution should reverse the process of reintegrating Mostar, or facilitate the disintegration of the city.