SARAJEVO, Aug 23 (Hina) - The House of Peoples of the Parliament of Bosnia-Herzegovina on Thursday adopted a draft permanent election law thus meeting the last requirement for the country's admission to the Council of Europe as a full
member. After a short debate at today's session in Sarajevo, all deputies adopted the bill as adopted previously by the parliament's House of Representatives. The law is mostly based on temporary election regulations that were in force since 1996 and which the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) applied when organising all previous elections in the country. The permanent election law, as proposed by the country's Council of Ministers, lacks only the final definition of the election of deputies to the House of Peoples but includes all other regulations which define the election of other legislative bodies on the state, entity and county levels as well
SARAJEVO, Aug 23 (Hina) - The House of Peoples of the Parliament of
Bosnia-Herzegovina on Thursday adopted a draft permanent election
law thus meeting the last requirement for the country's admission
to the Council of Europe as a full member.
After a short debate at today's session in Sarajevo, all deputies
adopted the bill as adopted previously by the parliament's House of
Representatives.
The law is mostly based on temporary election regulations that were
in force since 1996 and which the Organisation for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) applied when organising all previous
elections in the country.
The permanent election law, as proposed by the country's Council of
Ministers, lacks only the final definition of the election of
deputies to the House of Peoples but includes all other regulations
which define the election of other legislative bodies on the state,
entity and county levels as well as the state presidency.
The decision on the election of deputies to the House of Peoples
will be made after Constitutional Court's decision on all three
peoples being constituent throughout Bosnia's territory is
implemented.
Bosnia-Herzegovina has practically voted a majority electoral
system confirming previous practice when the Croat and Bosniak
members of the Presidency were elected by the Federation of Bosnia-
Herzegovina and the Serb member by the Serb entity.
The law also regulates that all BH citizens who should illegally
occupy other people's property on the day of elections will be able
to vote only in their pre-war places of residence. This regulation
is aimed at preventing the legalisation of ethnic cleansing.
It has been announced earlier that the Council of Europe's
committee on political affairs, to hold a session in Tbilisi on
September 4, will discuss Bosnia's admission to the organisation if
a permanent election law is adopted by that time.
(hina) rml