T K Vogel — research & analysis

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina — A package of constitutional amendments failed to gain the required two-thirds majority in Bosnia’s lower house of parliament on 26 April, which puts off any major reform until after a general election to be held this October.

The package, which aimed to strengthen the central government, had been signed by six of the country’s major parties and was strongly supported by the international community. It would have represented the first major formal overhaul of the constitution since it came into force as part of the 1995 Dayton peace accords.

The mood in parliament was tense as it became clear that the big parties lacked the necessary votes. Opponents of the package included almost all deputies from a breakaway Croat party which split from the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) earlier in April, among other things over the issue of amendments, as well as Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) parliamentarians for whom the proposed changes didn’t go far enough.

A first session on 25 April dragged on until 2 a.m. During frequent breaks, the U.S. ambassador as well as his colleagues from the United Kingdom and the delegation of the European Commission could be seen cajoling recalcitrant lawmakers – to no avail. When lawmakers met again on 26 April, things hadn’t changed: a vote close to midnight Wednesday failed to produce a two-thirds majority, with 26 voting in favor and 16 against.

Written with Mirna Skrbic. Read the rest here