Foreign officials are pushing the leaders of the Bosniak-majority SDA and the Croat HDZ to return to negotiations on a permanent political system for the city of Mostar in BiH. The city has been without a properly-elected government since 2012, when its election laws were ruled null and void by the BiH Constitutional Court. Since then, Bosniak and Croat leaders have repeatedly failed to agree on new rules.
A senior EU diplomat told BIRN on Monday that the EU and US would increase pressure on the main Bosniak and Bosnian Croat parties – the Party of Democratic Action, SDA, and Croat Democratic Union, HDZ – to finally reach a compromise over problems in Mostar.
“The timeline is tight … and we hope to see a breakthrough before mid-next year,” the official said, adding that this would allow local elections expected in October 2016 to take place and enable the formation of the first new city government since 2013.
Many in the city blame the international community for their deadlock, as it was a disagreement over the High Representative’s 2004 city statute that started the parties down this path.
Mostar Mayor Ljubo Beslic told BIRN on Friday that the West should resolve the Mostar crisis since the West caused it in the first place.
He was referring to the city statute imposed in 2004 by then High Representative Paddy Ashdown. This abolished the existing six municipalities and established a unified city with six areas run by the city council with 35 seats.
Neither Bosniaks nor Croats could hold more than 15 seats each, while the remaining five seats were reserved for Serbs and others. This solution was never accepted by any of the sides and the political quarrels continued.
