OBLIGATIONS FOR WINNERS OF THE ELECTIONS

JOBS LEFT UNDONE

AIM Sarajevo, September 16, 1996

Whether and how a change of authorities will occur in Bosnia & Herzegovina after the elections is a question which still awaits an answer. The thing which is already known regardless of possible changes is that the current authorities have left a lot of things undone, or obligations which either they themselves or somebody else will have to discharge after all.

For instance, the Government of B&H Federation had elaborated a series of legal documents which were intended to round off the constitutional legal system of the Federation. However, many of them have never been adopted, and the process was interrupted in the Constitutional Assembly of the Federation. Some of the decisions, which are especially important for post-election constitution of the authorities of the Federation, with regard to diasagreement and controversies of the former partners in power (SDA nad HDZ) will be reached by high representative Carl Bildt. In other words, what the former representatives of the authorities could not agree about will be imposed on them by dictate.

This refers to the Law on Election of Deputies in the Chamber of Nations of the Parliament of B&H Federation, which is important not only for constitution of the future federal parliament, but also for the Parliament of B&H. Not even after insisting of the high representative Carl Bildt, nor his warning issued to the highest authorities of the Federation, could deputies and representatives of the Constitutional Assembly agree about the number of delegates, representatives of the Croats and the Bosniacs from the cantons and the districts who would form the Chamber of Nations of the federal parliament of B&H. Therefore, it was left to the international community to decide how many Croats the Central Bosnian canton would delegate and whether the number of Croats living there would be taken into account as representatives of this nation in the authorities had insisted. In other words, whether number of delegates, both Bosniac and Croat, should be the same, not only from the Central Bosnian but also from the Neretva canton, and which cantons would have special status and would they determine this number on the basis of parity and not proportionately, as Bosniac representatives advocated.

Whatever decision the international factor may reach, the new authorities will have to accept it. The question is, however, what will happen with the obligations which the former partners in the authorities should have carried out, but which will not be imposed by dictate? Or if, after the elections, things remain more or less the same in the structure of the authorities, will it be possible to reach an agreement?

Such is the case with agreement about amendments of the Constitution of the Federation necessary to make it in compliance with the Constitution of B&H. Another issue which is controversial and which remained unresolved before the elections is the status of Sarajevo. Since the partners in the authorities until the elections could not agree about constitutional organization of this city, it remains an open issue how cantonal authorities of Sarajevo will be structured which the citizens of the Federation have voted for, when Sarajevo pursuant the federal Constitution remains a district. It is difficult to say who had actually obstructed resolution of the status of Sarajevo, because the partners in the authorities kept accusing each other and ended their six-years long mandate with disagreement concerning this issue. The significant question of fedaral insignia, the flag and the coat of arms also remained unresolved. And while high representative Carl Bildt made a solution for the flag of B&H which might be hoisted on the East River after publicizing of election results, since according to unofficial information, a general agreement concerning the offered solution for the flag of B&H seems to have been reached, so all things considered, the new flag of B&H will much sooner be hoisted than the federal one which should have been there a long time ago.

Whether by accident or on purpose, but representatives of the former authorities have also initiated and opened the question of the rights of deputies in the Constitutional Assembly. A draft law was even elaborated which provoked angry reactions of the public. Pursuant this draft law, assembly deputies should have charged for their work during the war. For example, deputies who had been in the Assembly from the first day of its constitution, pursuant this draft law should have been paid 25 thouisand German marks each. Bosniac deputies opposed this draft, not because they believed that they did not deserve this money, but out of fear as one of the deputies said of "happening of the people", that is, of the possibility of riots.

It is true that this law has not been adopted, but it is also true that there was a happening of the people, but in the elections, and it depends on their votes whether this will ever be discussed again in the future parliament, and of course, who will (or will not) do it - whether the same or some new people.

MIRJANA MICEVSKA