LOCAL PRESS

Kosovo’s bid to join Interpol fails again (B92)

The self-proclaimed state of Kosovo has failed to become a member of Interpol in the two rounds of voting on Tuesday, at the General Assembly held in Dubai. B92.net learned this on Tuesday. The round’s result was 76 votes in favor, 56 against, 22 abstained. There was a 20-minute break before the second round. During that break, B92 learns, a battle for votes was in full swing, as there was attempt to pull out of the hall where the voting took place the members of those delegations who voted against Kosovo, and in that way reduce the “against” votes in the second round. B92.net learned this morning that during the debate that preceded the vote, ten countries spoke in favor of Serbia’s opposition to Pristina’s bid: Spain, Marocco, Cyprus, China, Belarus, Russia, Namibia, Venezuela, Suriname, and Romania. A two-thirds majority was needed for Pristina’s attempt to join the organization to succeed. Pristina in the past applied for membership in 2010, 2015, and 2017. In the second round of voting 68 states were pro-Kosovo’s membership, 51 against and 16 abstained.

Vucic: Victory of a small, defiant and proud country (RTS/Tanjug)

On the occasion of Kosovo’s failure to become a member of Interpol, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that our side was moderately optimistic and that it had hoped for a good result. He thinks that the result is very good and shows that Pristina didn’t have the majority of the votes in the first round, not to mention the necessary two-third majority. “This speaks of the fact that Serbia has strengthened its position on the one side, while we must not be euphoric on the other,” said Vucic. “I am proud with the struggle of our country, with the fact that one such small country, without much money and power, had managed to win against the most powerful forces of the world and show how valuable it is to preserve one’s freedom, integrity and independence,” said Vucic. We will not develop hostilities with the 76 countries that voted for Kosovo’s accession in Interpol in the first round, said Vucic. “We will build even stronger relations with them in the wish to show how much we care about compromise, but also to show that Serbia is not a country that is easily humiliated, defeated and run over. I believe we will have even better relations with these countries, but we will never forget the friendship of countries that were on our side,” said Vucic. Vucic addressed an invitation to the Kosovo Albanians not to experience failure in Interpol as a debacle or defeat, but as a small sobering and to understand that the world is no longer unipolar and that the solution is in talks and agreement with Belgrade. “We succeeded and I wish to believe that this will be a clear invitation to everyone in Europe and the world to understand that these things are not resolved with unilateral pressures, but to try to resolve things in agreement and talks,” said Vucic. He says it would be good for politicians in Kosovo to send a message to the people that they don’t hate Serbia and the Serbs, but that we need to work together.

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic has stated that this a great victory of Serbia and the Serb nation, which shows that nothing can be done without agreement with Serbia, noting that he doesn’t have to be restrained in statements. As far as I am concerned – they experienced a debacle. This is an indicator that one cannot do anything by force and that nothing can be done without agreement with Serbia, Dacic told a joint press conference with President Vucic. Dacic pointed to the voting itself and noted that Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic objected because there was a break between the two rounds of voting so the big powers would try to settle something, and requested violation of procedure which was rejected, but even this didn’t help them for Kosovo to enter Interpol. In this sense, Dacic looked at the behavior of some countries, addressing Austria, i.e. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and Vice Chancellor Christian Strache, with the words “not even Kurz helped them”. Dacic says that he had told the Austrian Chancellor during his recent visit to Belgrade that he should not be on the side of the loser, and that Strache will have to explain the Serbs why he had promised that he would vote against Kosovo’s accession to Interpol but didn’t fulfill the promise, asked whether the Serbs in Austria voted for him or the Albanians, along with the message that there will be more elections. “You lied to the Serbs – even Kurz is no better – he is worse,” said Dacic. “I cannot but be happy because I know against whom we were fighting – the most powerful countries in the world,” said Dacic, who thanked all countries that voted against accession. According to him, they didn’t vote this way only because of Serbia, but also because they know they are next in line, assessing that the voting in Interpol is victory of international law.

Scott: Pity Kosovo hasn’t joined Interpol (FoNet)

The US Ambassador to Serbia Kyle Scott said it was a pity that Kosovo had not been accepted into Interpol, adding the voting was a diplomatic victory for Belgrade and congratulated the state leadership for it. Scott told reporters in Belgrade that Kosovo had more votes for its Interpol membership, but that the rules demanded the two-thirds majority. “As far as I’m concerned, it is a pity for police because Interpol is a police organization, it is not an international organization of countries. That means it will be more difficult for Kosovo to get an international warrant from Interpol. Considering that the police cooperation between Serbia and Kosovo is crucial, that is damaging in the end,” Scott told FoNet. Asked about how the decision from Dubai could affect the regional security, Scott said that at present, the best cooperation in the region is among criminal organizations,” and that “the fight against crime would have been better if police cooperated better.

Vucic confirms Gruevski fled through Serbia (TV Happy)

In a guest appearance on TV Happy on Monday evening, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic confirmed that Macedonia’s former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski crossed into Hungary from Serbia before an international arrest warrant was issued. Vucic said that Gruevski left Macedonia on 11 November using only his personal ID card in the company of two Hungarian nationals, crossing into Albania and then using the Bozaj border crossing to get to Montenegro. According to Vucic, Gruevski crossed into Serbia at the Gostun border crossing using his ID card on November 12 and then went to the Horgos crossing with Hungary where he used his ID card and a special pass issued to him in Albania. “The Interpol office in Skoplje handed us the international arrest warrant on 13 November at 07:35 pm. What do you expect? Should we arrest people who are not on arrest warrants? Let alone international warrants,” Vucic said and added that he was telling the truth about how Gruevski got to Hungary.

Vucic on CEFTA

The Albanians are not respecting one single point of the CEFTA agreement and a they haven’t regulated one single point from the Brussels agreement, Vucic told TV Happy. “We signed in 2006 the CEFTA agreement that has been applied for 12 years now and that is partially and temporarily violated by certain countries. The regional market was very important and it was functioning. We are exporting most of the goods to the EU and proportionally to the number of inhabitants in the region. We are selling a good part of our final products in B&H and we are importing significant crude material from B&H, this hasn’t suited somebody. The Pristina side, dissatisfied because we are doing our job and because we are fighting for integrity, had introduced 10 percent taxes for goods, which is crazy, you can’t break rules respected by everybody. I said in Brussels that Serbia is always prepared to discuss compromise and peace.

They are attacking me and Serbia, but we can’t tolerate something. We signed the Brussels agreement, it has been 2050 days and they were unable to implement only one point from the Brussels agreement on the Community of Serb Municipalities and we have been implementing the CEFTA agreement for 12 years, and they are saying ‘it is not valid any longer’. We will resume talks in Brussels before they withdraw measures.

Brnabic requests better treatment of Serbian convicts (Tanjug/RTS)

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic appealed today during the talks with the President of the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, Judge Theodor Meron, that this body does everything in its power to improve the treatment of Serbian convicts who are serving prison sentences on the verdict of the Tribunal.

Brnabic asked that the UN international residual mechanism examine once more Serbia’s request to allow Serbian citizens serving prison sentences on the basis of the Tribunal’s verdict, to serve the remaining sentence in their home country. Meron described the cooperation with the Serbian government as very good, and said that, when Serbia is in question, the Mechanism continues to work in four cases. He also expressed concern over inadequate prison conditions of some convicts and underlined that there is no consensus within the institution regarding the serving of prison sentences in Serbia. Brnabic and Maron also spoke about the establishment of an information center in Serbia, which would allow the citizens of the region access to the archives of this court. President Meron, whose mandate expires early next year, voiced confidence that cooperation with Serbia will continue in the future, during the term of the future President of the Mechanism.

REGIONAL PRESS

Bosnia and Herzegovina

RS parliament holds inaugural session, Cvijanovic and Dodik take oaths (RTRS)

The inaugural session of the 10th convocation of the Republika Srpska (RS) parliament was held in Banja Luka on Monday and the newly-elected representatives formally took oath. At this session, newly-elected Serb member of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) Presidency Milorad Dodik and RS President Zeljka Cvijanovic also took oath and both officials announced that they remain committed to the European path, but not at all costs, and that they will continue cooperating with Russia and Serbia. Dodik delivered a speech before the RS parliament and announced that the RS and its interests will remain the backbone of his political performance as the B&H Presidency member. Dodik said that his new function in authorities will be at service of the RS institutions. Dodik stressed that he is proud to say that, as the RS President in two previous mandates, he has been fulfilling the goal of preserving the RS. Dodik made it clear that his policy will remain unchanged and that the only thing that will change is his workplace. According to Dodik, his new function will represent an opportunity to carry out “another important work for the RS”. The newly-elected Presidency member from the RS also announced that he will advocate consistent application of the Dayton Peace Agreement. He criticized work of the High Representative, saying that the Office of the High Representative (OHR) in B&H should be closed as soon as possible. In Dodik’s opinion, as long as the OHR is present, B&H has slim chances of starting to function in line with “the international agreement based on which it was created”. Addressing the RS parliament, Cvijanovic stated that, as the RS President, she will be guided by the principle of working on a strong, stable and prosperous RS. Cvijanovic noted that the RS has a clearly articulated political stance and it does not fear to express it. Cvijanovic stressed that stable institutions are the best defense from all threats, guaranteeing the survival of the RS. The RS President promised that she will work on the RS’ unity and insist on preserving the constitutional capacity and the position of the RS along with the relations within B&H that are defined by the Dayton Peace Agreement. “I perceive election as the RS President as recognition for everything that I have done as the Prime Minister of the RS government, together with my colleagues, at the time that was by no means easy and in circumstances in which numerous political and financial challenges threatened from all sides”, the RS President underscored. She considers that there will be numerous obstacles and issues in the next four years, so she finds it important to secure unity of institutions in the RS and thereby affirm the RS’ constitutional position. In addition, Cvijanovic emphasized the need for the RS authorities to continue close cooperation with the newly-elected Serb member of B&H Presidency and jointly harmonize the stances of the RS.

Newly-elected members of B&H Presidency Dodik, Dzaferovic and Komic to take oath at inaugural session of B&H Presidency (RTRS)

The formal inauguration of the B&H Presidency is scheduled to take place in the presidency building in Sarajevo on Tuesday. On that occasion, newly-elected Serb member of B&H Presidency Milorad Dodik, as well as Bosniak member Sefik Dzaferovic and Croat member Zeljko Komsic will assume their duties and form the seventh convocation of B&H Presidency in – as RTRS reported – “the post-war, Dayton B&H”. Dodik will be the first Presidency Chairman. Chairman of B&H Central Election Commission (CEC) Branko Petric is expected to present the mandate certificates to the B&H Presidency members. With regard to certain assessments that Dodik’s arrival in Sarajevo represents a major security challenge, B&H Directorate for Coordination of Police Bodies issued a statement confirming that this directorate will personally secure Dodik and undertake adequate measures to protect the official including the building where he will be located. The RS Ministry of Interior (MoI) will be securing the formal reception, which Dodik is set to host in the Administrative Center of the RS government in Istocno Sarajevo on Tuesday afternoon. Dodik already took the oath before the RS parliament on Monday and announced that he will spend the majority of his time in the Cabinet in Istocno Sarajevo. Reporter noted that RTRS crew was not allowed to record the final preparations in the presidency building ahead of the inauguration, due to organizational and security reasons.

Date of Federation of B&H HoR inaugural session to be determined this week (Oslobodjenje)

Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Federation of B&H Parliament Edin Music is going to hold a consultative meeting the representatives of the political parties in the Federation of B&H HoR this week in order to determine the date for the inaugural session. The author noted that since the parliamentary majority has not been formed at the Federation of B&H level, the inaugural session will only be held in order for the MPs to take an oath and receive their certificates. DF MP Alma Kratina stated that she does not have “a vision” if the authority at the Federation of B&H level, adding that the distribution of mandates for the Federation of B&H House of Peoples is going to be postponed, which is certainly lead to political obstructions.

HDZ 1990 MP Boro Kristo stated that he doubts the inaugural session will be anything but ceremonial, adding it is unlikely new Federation of B&H HoR leadership is going to be elected. “As far as I can tell, HDZ B&H is yet to decide whether they will work with SDA or this other group of parties. In any case, the fact that the Central Election Commission did not decide on the mandates in the House of Peoples is another aggravating circumstance” said Kristo and expressed doubt that the new authority will be formed in this year. SDP MP Damir Masic said that without cantonal authorities it is impossible to complete formation of the Federation of B&H HoP, and with lack of ruling coalition it is not going to be possible to from the entity authority anytime soon.

B&H CEC to decide on whether to apply 1991 or 2013 census in formation of Federation of B&H HoP by end of this week (EuroBlic)

B&H Central Election Commission (CEC) is expected to make an important decision on distribution of mandates in the Federation of B&H House of Peoples (HoP) this week. The daily reminded that many believe that B&H CEC will make an unconstitutional move if it decides to apply census results from 2013 while, on the other hand, B&H CEC members openly stated that those who dislike their decision are free to address competent courts. The daily also reminded that this week’s session will be the third session at which B&H CEC will try to decide whether to apply the census from 1991 or the census from 2013 and this decision will directly affect the establishment of B&H HoP as well, having in mind that delegates of B&H HoP are elected by the parliaments of the entities. The daily learned that the Federation of B&H Statistics Institute sent a reply to B&H CEC on Monday to the request sent on November 15 in which B&H CEC asked the Federation of B&H Statistics Institute to deliver the total number of population and ethnic affiliation of citizens in the Federation of B&H and cantons in line with 1991 census. The Federation of B&H Statistics Institute reiterated its expert opinion which B&H CEC refused to accept on three different occasions. “The Interim Election Commission applied adjusted census from 1991 for the first use in elections held on September 14, 1996”, the Federation of B&H Statistics Institute noted in its reply and also reminded B&H CEC that the Rules and Regulations on Municipal Elections in 1997 also stipulated the use of 1991 census, just like it happened in elections in 1997 and 2000. The Federation of B&H Statistics Institute also noted in its reply that the OSCE and the Interim Election Commission transferred their competencies onto domestic authorities after the elections in 2000 and the Law on Elections of B&H was adopted in 2001 and that B&H CEC was established on grounds of it. The Federation of B&H Statistics Institute concluded in its reply that B&H CEC, as legal successor of the Interim Election Commission, is already in possession of the data of 1991 census, which was first adjusted for use in elections on September 14, 1996. The Federation of B&H Statistics Institute reminded that only B&H CEC is in charge of selection of census data for the election process. However, the Federation of B&H Statistics Institute concluded by saying that, in its expert opinion, only 1991 census is legally valid for the use in election process.

EU FAC discusses situation in B&H (N1)

The EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) discussed the situation in B&H at its session in Brussels on Monday. According to N1, the FAC practically rejected Croatia’s insistence for urging to amend the Election Law of B&H, as the Ministers of Foreign Affairs did not agree to take a concrete stance on the issue of the Election Law or the election of DF leader Zeljko Komsic as the Croat member of B&H Presidency. The Ministers of Foreign Affairs emphasized that the priority should be set on formation of authorities and implementation of reforms. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini presented the EU’s priorities when it comes to B&H and said that the EU has three messages in this regard, specifying: “The first one is that the authorities need to be formed as soon as possible. The second one is that it is necessary to start working on reform processes as soon as possible, because that is important for all citizens, especially for the European perspective of the country. The third is that it is necessary to work on the election legislation within the reform processes. The EU will continue to work very closely with all leaders in the country.” Mogherini added that B&H as part of the Western Balkan region will be a topic at the FAC’s session in December, too.

Croatian Minister of Foreign Affairs Marija Pejcinovic-Buric assessed that the issue of the Election Law should be set as the main priority for B&H authorities, and – once preconditions for stabilization of the political situation in B&H are met – then to work on the Reform Agenda.

Pejcinovic-Buric informed the EU FAC members about Croatia’s concern regarding status of Croats in B&H, i.e. about the problem of legitimate representation of Croats in authorities at all levels. Slovakian Minister of Foreign Affairs Miroslav Lajcak, who is former High Representative in B&H, underscored that B&H needs help rather than punishment. According to Lajcak, there are two realities in B&H i.e. “Dayton reality based and built on the ethnic principle and European reality based on the civic principle”. In Lajcak’s opinion, it is necessary to move from the first one towards the other, European one. Foreign Ministers expressed their concerns for B&H after the elections. “It is clear that the process of forming the authorities will not be an easy one,” said Lajcak.

Darmanovic: Montenegro will vote for Kosovo’s Interpol membership (CDM)

Minister of Foreign Affairs Srdjan Darmanovic said again that Montenegro would vote for Kosovo’s membership in Interpol. He also said that the relations with Serbia have become more stable ever since Montenegro regained its independence. Darmanovic said clearly that Montenegro can’t influence the agreement Kosovo and Serbia reach regarding exchange of territories. “We wish all the best to both of our neighbors. We have always supported their dialogue, but Montenegro cannot be the promoter of the solution. Montenegro doesn’t want crisis and tensions in the region” said Darmanovic. He pointed out that relations with Serbia are good regardless of some political disagreements that have always been there. Darmanovic also commented on the Nikola Gruevski passing through Montenegro and said he didn’t see anything wrong with that. “At that time, Gruevski wasn’t at the Interpol’s list of Wanted Persons and Macedonia never gave any signals that he was person out of law” says Darmanovic.

He also thinks that tense relations between Montenegro and Russia are past. “It would be nice if Russia could understand that their policy in the Balkans has finished in Montenegro. It is NATO member now and the issue is resolved,” said Darmanovic.

Turnout in the presidential election also uncertain (Nezavisen vesnik)

More than 720,000 citizens are supposed to come out and vote in the spring presidential election for the new “father of the nation” for it to get legitimacy. The turnout for successful elections, which, compared to the referendum, has dropped by ten percent (40 versus 50 percent) at the moment looks impossible for the disappointed electorate. The spectacular escape of the former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski has shaken the confidence in the government, but also in the functionality of the system, the political parties, the opposition and in general the belief in a better tomorrow and society for all. Both SDSM and VMRO-DPMNE confident of victory. Internal assessments and surveys are still ongoing in the two largest political parties in the country for the election of the candidate that would succeeded Gjorgje Ivanov, who is leaving the presidential post after two terms. Both SDSM and VMRO-DPMNE are aware that the results of the election that should be held in April will be an indicator of the mood among the citizens when it comes to the ratings of the political parties, that is, an assessment of the policies led by both leaderships. “Right now, we are focused on the slow process of constitutional changes and ratification of the agreement with Greece, but of course we are ready for elections. According to the polls we are conducting, SDSM will be a convincing winner, that is, our candidate will be the new president in the election” SDSM said. SDSM points out that it is still early to announce names, but that those who already came out are the same that usually circulate the public. The media are betting on Stevo Pendarovski, Radmila Sekerinska, Nikola Dimitrov, Renata Treneska-Deskovska, Denko Maleski, and the possibility of rotation of Prime Minister Zoran Zaev is not excluded. VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski in Gostivar on Saturday confidently announced that his party would win the next election, whatever the election it may be. According to him, this non-national and criminal government trades with the most sacred thing in a state: the Constitution, only to save and to temporarily continue their political careers. “They are not aware that the end will come very soon, but also the punishment for everything they did, for all the humiliation, the robbing and the insults against their homeland. But not before Kacarska, but before a genuine European judiciary according to European laws. We are even more resolute and more prepared to defeat them in the next parliamentary elections whether they will be regular or extraordinary. Next spring in the presidential elections, we will come out with a candidate that will brutally defeat the SDSM candidate,” said Mickoski. The main opposition party has already formed the Republic Electoral Headquarters, led by Secretary General Igor Janusev. As VMRO-DPMNE’s candidate for President, Professor Trajko Slavevski is most mentioned in the public, but according to our information, the party is thinking about new names. Ex-Minister Ganka Samoilovska-Cvetanova, who had “resurrected” over the past few months, was reportedly not interested in the presidential post.

DUI insists on a common presidential candidate

In the Albanian bloc, DUI plans to seek a consensual candidate in this election, which would be discussed with its coalition partner in the government – SDSM. Although in 2014 the party abstained because it was “dumped” by VMRO-DPMNE, this time there is a possibility of an agreement with the Social Democrats. Ali Ahmeti’s party explains that this does not mean that the consensus candidate should be an Albanian, but the idea was for the person to be a candidate that would be acceptable to all citizens and all parties that would stand behind him. SDSM headquarters responded that if and when DUI officially makes such a proposal to SDSM, the party will consider it and decide. But even in the case of a common candidate between government partners, the turnout needed for the elections to be successful is still uncertain, especially if the opposition, for whatever reason, decides to boycott the second round.

Political analyst Petar Arsovski points out that in this political setup of the figures and the total frustration among the citizens, achieving turnout in the presidential elections is “mission impossible”. “In the first round, when there are more candidates and when most parties take an active part – we can talk about turnout, but what about the second round? What if the opposition does not go out to vote?” Asks Arsovski. He says that the presidential system in the country is flawed, because the president is elected with a large number of votes, and in reality the president has very little power.

Parties to agree

“For these reasons, the parties should sit down and reach an agreement whether the president should have the same authority, in which case he should be elected by the parliament or continue to be elected by the citizens, but in that case the president would be given more power. Unfortunately, the political parties don’t want to face each other, let alone sit down and negotiate,” Arsovski concluded. According to the voter list valid for the recent referendum on the name agreement with Greece, there are 1.8 million registered voters in the country. Unlike September 30, when the referendum was supposed to have a turnout of over 900,000 citizens, the presidential election census was 40 percent, which means that about 720,000 ballots will be required this spring. The necessary turnout was reduced in November 2008 when the then VMRO-DPMNE and Minister Mihajlo Manevski-led government, supported by SDSM, DUI and DPA, demanded and voted to reduce the turnout percentage, explaining that the changes would contribute to reducing irregularities and incidents in the second round. Gjorgje Ivanov was the one who celebrated victory in the presidential election held on April 13 and 27, 2014, and for whom 534,910 citizens voted in the second round. 399,077 citizens have given their support to his opponent Stevo Pendarovski. In the first round, Zoran Popovski from GROM took part, and won 31,368 votes, and Iljas Halimi from DPA, who won 38,966 of the citizens’ votes. If the next elections were to be scheduled on Sunday, such figures for both the government and the opposition would have been unimaginable.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA SOURCES

EU must recognise new force for Balkans destabilization (EUobserver, by Ivan Pepic, 19 November 2018)

MOSTAR, The sighs of relief from some European Union diplomats were almost audible in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) following the country’s general election last month.

The election took place despite the BiH Constitutional Court having ruled that parts of the electoral law have been unconstitutional since 2016. But perhaps the biggest relief was the election to the Croat seat of the tripartite state presidency of Zeljko Komsic. While Komsic is seen by the vast majority of BiH Croats as a puppet of the country’s majority Bosniaks, he is inaccurately seen by some Westerners as a voice of reason and a guarantor of political stability, compared to his Croat rival and outgoing pro-European president, Dragan Covic. Komsic’s election compounds the sense of grievance in the BiH Croat community at the illegality and illegitimacy of the electoral system in BiH, and the West’s enthusiasm for turning a blind eye to it. Komsic is a beneficiary of misunderstood intentions. While Covic was long accused of harbouring plans to create a so-called third entity in BiH for Croats – which, according to Covic’s Western critics, would tear up the hallowed Dayton Agreement on which the country’s governance is founded – it is in fact Komsic who seeks to scrap Dayton. He wants to move away from the model of ‘constituent peoples’ and power-sharing, which is supposed to guarantee equality of Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs, as it is the case in modern European federations such as Belgium, and instead to move to a simple majoritarian system – in which the obvious winners would be Bosniaks. The EU Foreign Affairs Council has announced it will discuss BiH following the elections on Monday, 19 November. The EU is given the opportunity to show that it is not a political dwarf in the Balkans, where not only economic, but also political reforms are necessary. Indeed, the reason why Komsic has been elected president again is because, while the Republika Srpska elects its own member of the state presidency, the Bosniak-Croat Federation, as one constituency, elects both the Bosniak and Croat members. With Bosniaks outnumbering Croats by more than four to one in the federation, you do not have to be a mathematical genius to work out that Bosniaks have the power to elect anyone they like to the Croat seat, over the heads of Croats. This is exactly what happened – for the third time – at the 7 October election. Komsic won at least 90 percent of his votes from electors who identify as Bosniak. To take an illustrative example: in the municipality of Bosanska Krupa there are 50 Croats in the population register. The main Croat parties – HDZ and HDZ 1990, Komsic’s sworn enemies – won 44 votes, whereas Komsic won 2,798 votes. Komsic is repaying his debt to the Bosniaks who elected him by acting as the reincarnation of Bosniak nationalism. Bizarrely, Komsic is the most vocal opponent of the Peljesac Bridge, which is being built near BiH’s narrow strip of coast to link Croatia’s southernmost peninsula of Peljesac (home to Dubrovnik) with the rest of Croatia.

The project is financed by the EU to the tune of €357m. During the campaign, Komsic joined Bosniak nationalists in denouncing Croatia’s president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic for her strong support for the bridge. The sexism and belittling of the president by Komsic and his enablers culminated in a rally at which songs called for Covic to be impaled and ‘stuck into’ Grabar-Kitarovic.

Passed unnoticed in Brussels

This medieval and hate-filled rhetoric, redolent of Ottoman supremacy, seems to have passed unnoticed in Brussels and Washington, but it is not the language of a moderate, and certainly not the language of Croats either in BiH or Croatia itself. Komsic may have emerged victorious again, but he is on the wrong side of law. In 2016, the BiH Constitutional Court decided that “the connection between those who are represented and their political representatives at all administrative-political levels is actually the one that gives the legitimacy to community representatives” and, “therefore, only the legitimacy of representation creates a basis for actual participation and decision-making”. Integrationist promoters of a ‘one person, one vote’ system reject this, arguing that power-sharing between the three constituent peoples is discriminatory.

Would they argue the same for Belgium? They accuse all intellectuals and people who question the legitimacy and legality of Komsic’s election as being ‘hardliners’, ‘nationalists’, and accusing them of obsessing over ‘whether Komsic is a real or fake Croat’. These false accusation try to divert attention from concerns that Komsic’s election is both contrary to the Dayton Agreement and illegitimate. In short, Komsic is not a fake Croat, but he is a fake representative of Croats.

However, any attempt to make the electoral law legitimate is directly or indirectly stopped by Bosniak parties, because they know that change would make it impossible for them to impose illegitimate Croats on legislative and exercise control over executive bodies in the future.

Although Komsic’s victory satisfies some Westerners, it ultimately makes political paralysis in BiH even more likely. If the EU discovers the courage to push a resolution of this lamentable situation according to modern federal and power-sharing arrangements that respect the spirit and the letter of the constitution of BiH, a serious deterioration in Bosniak-Croat relations could be avoided. Inaction, however, will probably lead to a de facto ‘Cyprus-isation’ of the Bosniak-Croat Federation – which, ironically, would make Croats’ coveted third entity much more likely.

Ivan Pepic is head of the expert team at the Institute for Social and Political Research, Mostar