BARRY, JELAVIC DISCUSS NEW MODEL OF ELECTION OF DEPUTIES TO FEDERATION PARLIAMENT

MOSTAR, Oct 13 (Hina) - The head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia- Herzegovina, Robert Barry, on Friday in Mostar held talks with the president of Bosnia's Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ BiH), Ante Jelavic, on the recent decision by the Provisional Election Commission (PIC) on a new model of electing representatives to the House of Peoples of the Croat-Muslim Federation parliament, which the HDZ does not accept. After the talks, Barry refused to comment on his meeting with Jelavic. However, before the meeting, he said PIC's decision was final, indirectly rejecting the party's request that it be changed. Commenting on Jelavic's warning about a possible boycott of the 11 November elections, Barry said the HDZ BiH was not the only Croat party in the country. The PIC decided that 30 Croat, 30 Bosniak and 20 deputies from the category "other representatives", mostly Serbs, will be elected to the House of Peoples by representatives of all political parties in cantonal assemblies. Until now, 12 Serb deputies were elected to the House of Peoples and all deputies were elected according to the ethnic criterion: Croats were elected by Croats and Bosniak deputies by Bosniaks. Barry explained that the recent decision by the BH Constitutional Court granting the constituent quality to Croats, Bosniaks and Serbs on the entire territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina has annulled the regulation from the Federation Constitution on the model of election of deputies to the Federation parliament's House of Peoples. (hina) jn rml