A COUNTRY IN A POLITICAL COMA
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| Independent Social Democratic Party (SNSD) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) |
Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH) is today an ungovernable country where institutions are blocked, power is shared at the citizens' expenses, and democracy itself is in danger.
After a long process to form the new government, the Council of Ministers is currently in crisis. What is the political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina?
By journalist and political analyst Almir Terzić
BIH LEADERS OF DIFFERENT POLITICAL PARTIES AND ETHNIC BACKGROUND ACT ON NATIONAL BASIS
Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) at the moment is in a serious political crisis, to the point that it could be compared to a comatose state. Since the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement (1995) onwards, there have been more or less important crisis, but today's is by far the largest. There has been no progress on the issue of the Euro-Atlantic path from the second half of last term (2006-2010), but rather constant setbacks. The last step was made in 2008, with the signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU. Stagnation has increased with the new government after the parliamentary elections of 2010.
Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) at the moment is in a serious political crisis, to the point that it could be compared to a comatose state. Since the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement (1995) onwards, there have been more or less important crisis, but today's is by far the largest. There has been no progress on the issue of the Euro-Atlantic path from the second half of last term (2006-2010), but rather constant setbacks. The last step was made in 2008, with the signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU. Stagnation has increased with the new government after the parliamentary elections of 2010.
THE GOAL OF OLD POLITICAL ESTABLISHMENTS OF THE THREE ENTITIES (MUSLIM, ROMAN CATHOLIC AND SERBIAN ORTHODOX): KEEP BIH IN A STATE OF DISORDER AS LONG AS POSSIBLE, IN ORDER TO REMAIN IN POWER.
One possible reason for all that is the failure of the so-called “April package” of constitutional amendments. Since then, the IC (International Community) has stepped out of the decision-making process. The leaders of different political parties continue to act only on a national basis, and in recent years have clearly demonstrated that they cannot agree, and often do not even want to, because the introduction of European legislation goes to their disadvantage. Their goal is to keep BiH in a state of disorder as long as possible, because this is the only way political leaders, under the guise of defending alleged national interests, can remain in power. BiH was way ahead in the process of approaching the EU, but in a very short time it ended up at the bottom of the race on a regional level.
INDEPENDENT SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY (SNSD) SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY (SDP) APPEARS TO BE THE MAIN GENERATORS OF THE CURRENT CRISIS
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| Milorad Dodik (SNSD) and Zlatko Lagumdžija (SDP) |
The creation of a new parliamentary majority in June 2012, a few months after the formation of the Council of Ministers, has only increased the intensity of the divisions within the country, behind the screen of a false defense of national interests. People were expecting a lot more from the social-democratic option, particularly from Milorad Dodik's Independent Social Democratic Party (SNSD) and Zlatko Lagumdžija's Social Democratic Party (SDP). In the end, however, it turned out that these two parties, in combination with the nationalists, are the main generators of the crisis. This will surely last up to the elections in 2014, with possible aggravations.
WHAT ARE THE REASONS FOR THE CURRENT CONFLICT BETWEEN THE PARTY OF DEMOCRATIC ACTION (SDA) AND THE SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY (SDP)?
The SDP, after a decade in the opposition, had developed strong desires to govern, especially to strengthen its position in the state-owned companies, where power is concentrated. The Government of the Federation of BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA (FBiH), one of the two entities in which the country is divided, for months after its formation has dealt exclusively with the appointment of directors of companies and public institutions. Allegedly, the conflict broke out between SDP and SDA because of the latter's opposition to the adoption of the budget for 2012. In fact, the reasons are much deeper.
The SDP wanted to amend the Law on Internal Affairs of FBIH, in order to dismantle the independence of the police and rule the media, primarily the federal television (FTV). The SDA opposed this. The SDP also obtained companies, formerly run by the Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina (Stranka za BiH), SDA's partner in the previous government. The financial situation of these companies was not a brilliant one to say the least, so the SDP sought to expand its influence in one of the most profitable state run companies: TELEKOM. The SDA, however, tenaciously defended this company from being controlled by the SDP, which was the straw that broke the camel's back.
The SDP decided to discontinue any relationship with the SDA and began to fire its public servants. It found a strong partner in the BiH Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ BiH), another party only interested in positions of power. The bitter rivals joined to pursue the division of the state treasury in the interests of the party, under the false claim of defending national interests.
WHAT IS THE TRUE MEANING OF THE AGREEMENT RECENTLY SIGNED BETWEEN SNSD AND SDP?
What are the reasons for the strong reaction expressed by NGOs such as Center of Civil Society, and why does the agreement not mention the Sejdić–Finci verdict?
A detailed look at the agreement shows that Lagumdžija and Dodik want to turn into another BELARUS and play the role of undisputed lords. Lagumdžija would become the lord of the FBIH, Dodik of REPUBLIKA SRPSKA (RS). Dodik already is, but the agreement with Lagumdžija would keep him there for the next years, perhaps decades. Considering that the proposed amendment of the electoral law, contained in the Agreement, provides for the closure of the list of candidates, means that the next seats in parliament and assemblies would belong to political parties rather than those who are elected. The introduction of the so-called "imperative mandate" is the worst form of suffocation of democratic processes and demonstrates the complete disregard of citizens' will.
Lagumdžija and Dodik also want to eliminate the main centre of the counting of votes at the state level, which only in the last elections unveiled 100 attempts at electoral fraud. Were it not for this control system, all those irregularities would have passed and the election results would have been far different in many municipalities. If the elections were conducted by the electoral commissions of entities and municipalities, as suggested in the Agreement, not only would the electoral process in BiH fall apart, but this would open up the possibility of manipulation and electoral engineering.
CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS PROMPTED THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE TO INTERVENE IN DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACY IN BIH
This is a really crucial aspect which would guarantee the presidents of SDP and SNSD maximum durability in power, no matter the will of voters, who have significantly reduced their preferences for these two parties in the last administrative elections. SDP and SNSD fear defeat in the 2014 elections, and with this agreement they seek to avoid it. Civil society organizations, for the first time, have opposed all together (300) and prompted local and international institutions, primarily the Council of Europe, to do something in defense of democracy in BiH.
The agreement between Dodik and Lagumdžija also contains an attack on the independence of the judiciary, in particular through the proposed amendments to the system of appointment of judges, which would be transferred from the High Council of the Judiciary to the parliament. Other problematic issues relate to the functioning of the Central Bank and public energy companies also are at stake. The verdict of the Strasbourg Court in the case of Sejdić-Finci, on the issue of ethnic exclusivity for certain public offices, was not taken into account simply because it would be against the interests of political leaders and in favor of citizens'.
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY IN THIS SCENARIO?
In recent years, the IC in BIH has adopted a rather passive role. The Office of the High Representative (OHR) has virtually disappeared; the OSCE mission now acts more as a consultant than anything else, just like the office of the COUNCIL OF EUROPE. The same can be argued for the Delegation of the European Commission in Sarajevo and his representative, Peter Sorensen, from whom BIH expected much more in terms of pressure on local politicians to lead the country along the Euro-Atlantic integration path.
The interests of parties continue to be dominant over those of citizens, which is why the country is in a state of “political coma”. Rumors that the Lagumdžija–Dodik agreement is supported by the IC seems somewhat farfetched, or otherwise Stefano Sannino, Director General for the EU enlargement, would not have written a letter to the BIH government, warning it not to touch the resources of the state electricity company.
If the IC exerted more pressure on the government to achieve these goals, the political landscape of BIH would change. The greatest progress and reforms in BIH were made between 2002 and 2006, when the international community had an important role to play in decision-making processes.
SOLUTIONS TO RESOLVE THE POLITICAL CRISIS IN BIH?
Party leaders should cater for the welfare of citizens. But this is not about to happen, they have already proven they do not want to. Under current circumstance and by excluding SDA from an agreement, the political crisis will last at least two more years.
2014 elections will be an opportunity to move ahead. Amending the electoral law and introducing compulsory voting at least for the 2014 election would improve the situation. It is not an anti-democratic measure; it has also been applied in developed countries such as Finland, Belgium, and Australia.
This system would de-legitimize forever parties' claims of having the citizens' full support. That 40-45% of entitled voters refrain from voting, because they are displeased with the country’s political disarray, could change the outcome. Should the situation remain the same after 2014, however, one could say that it is the will of the citizens of BiH. Until then, nor Dodik nor Lagumdžija can be leaders in BiH, because the votes they obtained is hardly ten per cent of the whole electorate.
Related articles on BIH:
6 PART ARTICLE ON WAHHABISM IN BIH:
Almir Terzić is a journalist of Sarajevo's daily Oslobođenje. He has chronicled the internal political work of the Parliament and of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), the electoral process, and the work of international organizations in the country for over ten years. He is the author of policy and electoral analysis on Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the electoral law, conflict of interest law, and party financing law. Transparency International BiH published his analysis of the election campaign during the elections of 2010, and he collaborated in the publication "A critical analysis of the electoral law" on the Bosnian electoral system, published by the Centre for Civil Initiatives (CCI) of Bosnia Herzegovina with the support of the Council of Europe. He is a member of the advisory group set up under the project "Study of the social integrity system in BiH 2011", funded by the European Union Delegation in BiH and implemented by Transparency International BiH. He is a consultant on election legislation matters for the CCI BiH and member of Transparency International BiH and the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Sarajevo.
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