Bosnian Serb and Croat leaders, Dragan Covic and Milorad Dodik, met in Mostar, on Sunday, to discuss the government formation process after the October general election. Both leaders agreed that Bosnia’s EU integration process has no alternative, and Dodik noted that Bosnia is lagging because of Bosniak representatives.

reas with the Croat “We discussed the current political situation and the government formation process. There’s no reason this process shouldn’t go any faster at the state level. We need to finish this as soon as possible,” Covic told the reporters. “We agreed that our EU path has no alternative and that our cooperation must spread from the highest to the lowest levels of government.”

The leader of the strongest Croat ethnic-oriented party, the Croat Democratic Union (HDZ BiH), Dragan Covic, said he informed the Bosnian Serb Presidency Chairman and leader of the strongest Serb nationalist party, the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), Milorad Dodik, of his plans to meet with leaders of the Alliance for the Better Future (SBB), Fahrudin Radoncic, and the Democratic Action Party (SDA), Bakir Izetbegovic, two leading Bosniak parties, to discuss the formation of the government and the election of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers.

Following the October general election, Bosnia was unable to form the government in several of its cantons, in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity and at the State level.

Dodik complained that the Serb and Croat leaders are “always waiting for Bosniak representatives who are searching for something and trapping the entire country in the process.”

He appealed to Bosniak representatives to resolve the situation they have and to agree on what needs to be done, based on the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“We need to meet, from time to time, and coordinate the processes in the country. It’s unacceptable that we’re late with the government formation at the state level, considering that Serb and Croat representatives are already known. We’re waiting for the Bosniak side to consolidate their ranks,” Dodik noted.

The two leaders also talked about Bosnia’s Election Law reform and Dodik said his party, the SNSD, supports the HDZ BiH’s principle that one people should not elect the other people’s political representatives.

In December 2016, the State Constitutional Court ruled partially in favour of a complaint lodged by former HDZ BiH politician, Bozo Ljubic.

He argued that the Croat influence in cantons with a majority Bosniak population was unfairly diminished in the election of delegates. Therefore Croat candidates should be elected only out of majority Croat cantons, thereby ensuring that only Croats vote for Croat delegates.

In effect, Ljubic asked the Court to forbid the Croats from areas dominated by Bosniaks, such as Sarajevo, Tuzla and Bihać from becoming members of the House of Peoples of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This is vehemently opposed by Bosniaks and the negotiations were stuck ever since because nobody was willing to move an inch from their prior position.