Although they were expected to do so on Thursday, the members of the Central Election Commission (CIK) did not determine whether the census from 1991 or the one from 2013 will be applied when lawmakers are appointed to the House of Peoples of Bosnia’s semi-autonomous Federation (FBiH) entity.
The issue has been in focus following the October election but the Patria outlet reported informally that some CIK members were opposed to discussing the matter at all until the Constitutional Court (CC) rules on a related matter as requested by a Bosnian Croat politician.
Which census will be applied became a burning issue after the October election.
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The Dayton Peace Agreement which ended the war contains a separate annexe which says that all displaced persons have to be able to return home.
The refugee return annexe, however, has never been declared as implemented, neither by Bosnia’s top international administrator, the High Representative, nor by the country’s parliament.
The two censuses show a very different population structure as a result of the ethnic cleansing during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia. The results of it would be reflected in the power-sharing, would the new census be applied.
“We are holding a session, the Constitutional Court is holding a session, except theirs is a closed one while ours is observed by media,” said CIK member Branko Petric.
Several weeks ago, CIK experts were tasked with deciding on which census will be applied.
The FBiH Statistics Agency sent earlier this month its expert opinion to CIK, saying that it should be the one from 1991. The opinion is binding, said the head of the Agency, Emir Kremic, at a press conference on Wednesday.
Only after Annexe VI is implemented can the new census be applied, Kremic said.
Without CIK’s decision, the FBiH Parliament cannot be formed.
