Nationalism and ethno-nationalism

Democratic values and principles have been under fire in Bosnia and Herzegovina for years, from within and without, a battle between ethnocracy and democracy is being waged in the country at the expense of its citizens.

Only when enlightened citizens realize that they have rights and that they can and must use them to change the system for the better, something will change.

Criminal ethno-clans have dominated the political scene in Bosnia and Herzegovina for three decades, and the destructive ideologies of the 1990s have never been placed ad acta. Many voters discovered the power of their vote at the local elections, in order to reject the ruling parties in urban centres. In Sarajevo, an alternative block won. The Serbian secessionists surrounding the obstructive member of the BiH Presidency Milorad Dodik suffered a defeat in their stronghold Banja Luka. The voting was accompanied by massive electoral fraud.

Senior Associate of the Democratization Policy Council Bodo Weber says that the agreement reached is not in for the future of Mostar or the whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Agenda coming ‘in the name of Croats in BiH’ relies almost entirely on the victimology/victorious narrative, with a populist aspiration to preserve the 'nation' endangered by majoritarianism in the Federation BiH.

After not having been held for 12 years, the elections in Mostar on December 20 will be a historical event in the sense of reviving democracy in this city.

Marin Bago, a prominent activist from Mostar, submitted the list of independent candidates “Pravo na Grad” [“Right to the City”] for the Local Elections in Mostar, planned to be held on 20 December 2020, to the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) today.

Regarding the “political agreement on the amendments to the Electoral Law of BiH” reached in June between the leaders of two political parties, Bakir Izetbegović (SDA) and Dragan Čović (HDZ), so that after 12 years finally elections can be held in Mostar, the High Representative in BiH rushed to say how that was a “celebration of democracy”.  To a bystander, it looked as if a heavy load was taken off his mind, so that now one can continue under that flag as well. Of course, the conclusions of the two party leaders were agreed in the presence of representatives of the international community, then adopted by the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH at the very last second – less than a month before the deadline imposed by the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg by the judgement in the case of Ms. Irma Baralija. This citizen of Mostar sued Bosnia and Herzegovina because no elections have been held in that city since 2008!

Ljubo Bešlić has been the Mayor of the City of Mostar since December 2004, so for almost 16 years. It is not known in the history of recent democracy in Europe, probably also the whole world, that someone held an office for so long just because no elections were held. He told Interview.ba that during all those years he intended to resign countless times. But, the question was, he added, to whom to hand over the mandate.

After 12 long years, the ballot boxes for electing political representatives may be open again in Mostar on 20 December this year, following the 18 June signing of the ‘political agreement’ on elections by leaders of the Party for Democratic Action (SDA) and the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ). The recent history of Mostar has seen numerous changes to the election system, and only four elections held since 1995 until today.

After 12 years of deprivation of each citizen of the fundamental human right to elect and stand at elections in a democratic society, a political agreement was reached in the city of Mostar on 18 June, between leaders of the Party for Democratic Action (SDA), Bakir Izetbegović, and of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Dragan Čović, on holding the elections in this city. Thus, Mostar is no longer a ‘case’, at least on paper. Professor Suad Arnautović, Ph. D., member of the Central Election Commission, spoke to Interview.ba about reasons for scheduling the Mostar elections for December, unlike other places in BiH, what changes have been made through the recent political agreement, can a Serb, or a Croat like Željko Komšić (whom the HDZ deems an illegitimate representative) become mayor of Mostar, whether all the agreed items can be effected by the deadline, and whether we will have local elections this year or not.

That which the BiH political leaders had failed (or avoided) to do over the past 12 years ended in a matter of months: SDA and HDZ reached an agreement on elections in the city of Mostar. The political analyst Adnan Huskić believes that this agreement is the result of, above all, the pressure by the international community. Here he provides his views regarding statements by Dragan Čović, alternatives in Mostar, abuse of the voting procedures, and also answers the question whether the election would be decided by the voters or the counters.

The Democratic Front (DF) recently tabled amendments to the countries Election Law in parliamentary procedure. Of course, it didn't take long for the HDZ and SNSD headquarters to make it known that they didn't want to talk about it. At the same time, however, the first people of these two parties are threatening to block the state unless the Election Law changes. If, however, they do not want to discuss material put out by DF, the only thing that can be concluded is that the amendments to the Election Law must follow the basic principles under which HDZ operates. So, it’s either the Election Law according to the solutions offered by the HDZ or the combined Čović-Dodik blockade of the state.