ZAGREB, October 25, 2018 – US Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina said on Wednesday that HDZ BiH president Dragan Čović’s claim, that the prerequisites to form a government in that country following recent general elections would not exist until the election law is amended, was irresponsible and unfair.
Even though it is essential to resolve the problems in the election law in Bosnia and Herzegovina, holding the future of the country hostage in order to achieve political gain is irresponsible and unfair toward the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including Croats, the US Embassy said. Even though it is essential to resolve the problems in the election law in Bosnia and Herzegovina, holding the future of the country hostage in order to achieve political gain is irresponsible and unfair toward the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including Croats, the US Embassy said.
US Embassy called for dialogue
In an official statement as carried by the regional N1 television station, the embassy called for dialogue. Political parties should be working within the established political framework and in the spirit of compromise in order to advance their objectives, the embassy said.
US Embassy released a statement after the Croatian National Assembly
The embassy released the statement after the Croatian National Assembly (HNS), an informal group of Bosnian Croat political parties, said on Tuesday that a new government could not be formed until an agreement is reached on amendments to the election law in accordance with a 2016 Constitutional Court ruling.
That was the HNS’ response to the final election results which show that Čović was defeated for the Croat seat in the country’s Presidency by Željko Komšić by 70,000 votes, while the HDZ BiH and its coalition partners won majority support in those areas where Croats are the majority population.
“We don’t have the prerequisites to form a government. It is obvious that the election for the Croat member of the Presidency is illegal, unconstitutional and illegitimate,” Čović said interpreting the HNS’ stance.
The US Embassy recalled that in the past year the international community tried to help in the dialogue between political parties in an effort to resolve the election law problems. However, due to a lack of political will for compromise, an agreement was not reached.
It remains necessary for partners in Bosnia and Herzegovina to work on finding a solution in line with European and democratic standards which guarantee political equality of the three constituent peoples and all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including those who do not identify themselves as members of any of the three peoples, the US Embassy said.
