High Representative Christian Schmidt used his powers to impose legislation on Bosnia and Herzegovina to introduce new set of rules aimed at ensuring free elections and preventing vote-rigging.
Christian Schmidt, international official who oversees the continued implementation of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s peace deal, imposed a new set of changes to the country’s election law on Tuesday, describing it as his “contribution” to the country’s progress towards European Union membership.
Schmidt’s intervention includes a so-called integrity package intended to ensure electoral fairness.
“I will do today what should have been done many years ago. Guaranteeing free and fair elections for all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Schmidt told a press conference.
He announced changes such as the implementation of electronic vote-counting, electronic identification and digital voting stations at a limited number of locations in a pilot scheme.
Schmidt also banned convicted war criminals from standing in elections.
Earlier on Tuesday, the president of the Serb-dominated Republika Srpska entity, Milorad Dodik, said that if Schmidt’s intervention goes ahead, the High Representative will then go on to impose a property law, which Dodik described as unacceptable.
Dodik insists that all public property on the territory of Republika Srpska is solely owned by the entity, not the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is concerned that Schmidt will back legislation that will declare the state the owner.
“Schmidt has nothing to do with property or the electoral process, that belongs to the people living in Bosnia and Herzegovina. If you go after that, then we must take measures, and we have said what measures we will take,” he said.
Dodik has often threatened that Republika Srpska will secede from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The current election law in Bosnia and Herzegovina faces several key issues, including a disputed selection process for the Croat member of the tripartite presidency and concerns about the integrity of the electoral process, such as voter registration and vote-counting, which are controlled by political parties.
These issues, which have been highlighted by experts and international officials like Schmidt, pose a significant threat to electoral fairness.
Despite years of efforts and international assistance, Bosnian politicians have been unable to find a solution to these challenges.
Schmidt’s recent intervention, his tenth under the High Representative’s so-called ‘Bonn powers’ to impose changes and his third related to election law, came after warnings to party leaders in the ruling coalition.
Schmidt’s previous interventions have included changes to the Federation entity’s House of Peoples and the formation deadline for the government after an election, aiming to ensure the functionality of the Federation entity, as well as a transparency package, which aims to ensure a free and fair campaign.
In April 2023, Schmidt suspended the Federation entity constitution briefly to facilitate the formation of a new government after a prolonged caretaker mandate.
