Bosnia Changes Law to Call 2014 Elections

Source: 
BalkanInsight
Publication date: 
Jan 24 2014

Bosnian MPs adopted changes to the law on January 23, enabling the Central Electoral Commission to call nationwide October elections.

The Electoral Commission has said it is aiming for elections to take place on October 12. It plans to call the elections in May. 

“There are no more legal obstacles to call the 2014 general elections,” spokesperson Maksida Piric said, noting: “We have to call the elections 150 days before polling day.”

The changes were ordered by the Constitutional Court, which said that state-level law had to be harmonized with the law in Bosnia's mainly Serbian entity, Republika Srpska, which had changes the names of several municipalities. 

Though only a technical issue, lawmakers mulled the electoral law changes for months, as they raised other problems and questions. 

European institutions had urged Bosnia to change the law to allow elections to take place, while some analysts feared the logjam could create a new, prolonged political crisis in the divided country.