Strasbourg, 23/08/2001 (Agence Europe) - The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Walter Schwimmer, welcomed the electoral law passed by the lower chamber of the Central Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Council of Europe considers this law vital if the country is to join the ranks of democratic nations and be part of the European institutions.
In a letter to Prime Minister Zlatko Lagumdzija and to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Sead Avdic, Mr Schwimmer congratulated them on this major step forward which should enable the country to organise its own elections. He hoped that this decision, which still has to be approved by the Central Parliament's upper chamber (House of Peoples) would give fresh impetus to the procedure for Bosnia and Herzegovina's accession to the Council of Europe which began in 1995.