The Delegation of the European Union to Bosnia and Herzegovina/EU Special Representative Office today expressed its support for a solution to be found to enable elections to go ahead in Mostar in the autumn.
 
Head of Delegation/EU Special Representative Ambassador Peter Sorensen said:
 
“The citizens of Mostar are continuously being denied their democratic right to elect their city representatives because of the failure of the relevant political parties and institutions to compromise, and to meet their obligations to implement the ruling of the BiH Constitutional Court on the electoral system for Mostar. This situation is unacceptable for reasons of democracy and good governance. The citizens of Mostar are furthermore deprived of their ability to hold their politicians to account through democratic elections. Mostar’s ability to attract investment and undertake development are seriously affected as there is no elected decision-making authority in the city.
 
“The EU fully supports the High Representative’s call on the BiH Parliament leadership to ensure that the legislative framework for holding elections in Mostar on 12 October 2014 is in place.
 
“The Parliamentary Assembly has a legal and moral responsibility to implement the ruling of the Constitutional Court though changes to the BiH election law as a matter of utmost urgency. The citizens of Mostar must finally be given the opportunity to elect their representatives, who then can get to work and give Mostar democratically and economically sustainable governance for a better future for the whole city.”