In the evening of Monday 8 October, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and Enlargement Negotiations Commissioner Johannes Hahn called on the politicians of Bosnia Herzegovina to assume their responsibilities after the holding of general elections the day before.
After the elections, Serbian nationalist Milorad Dodik, Bosnian nationalist Sefik Dzaferovic and the democrat linked with the Croatian minority, Zeljko Komsic, were elected members of the collegial presidency.
"We expect all political leaders to engage in the formation of the governments at all levels, by working constructively together in the interest of the citizens of their country", the EU representatives warned in a joint press release. They said they believed a rapid formation of the Federation House of Peoples, in line with rulings by the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, would also be important. "We call on political leaders to assume their responsibilities", they stated.
Moreover, while noting that at the general elections, citizens had exercised their democratic right in a calm and orderly manner, according to the preliminary findings and conclusions of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission, the elections were genuinely competitive but characterised by continuing segmentation along ethnic lines. "The legal framework is generally conducive to holding democratic elections, but important long-standing shortcomings remain", Mogherini and Hahn added, hoping for the recommendations of the OSCE/ODHIR to be addressed "without delay" to improve the electoral process.
Mogherini and Hahn said that the conduct and effective implementation of the general elections would be taken into account in the opinion on the merits of Bosnia and Herzegovina's application for EU membership that the Commission is preparing. The new political mandate "can be an opportunity for political leaders to demonstrate, both to their citizens and to the EU, a renewed commitment and determination to take forward all the reforms needed to advance on the EU path", they said. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)