The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers called on Bosnian authorities to speed up the process of electoral reform in order to fully harmonise the Constitution and electoral regulations with the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights.

It added that the changes of the electoral legislation only, without adequate changes to the Constitution, will leave the discriminatory law provisions that were disputed in the court's rulings.

The Committee gathered for its quarterly meeting to oversee the execution of judgments and decisions from the ECHR, including the ruling in the ‘Sejdic-Finci’ case, which treats the issue of ineligibility to stand for elections to the Presidency and the House of Peoples and refers to the citizens who do not affiliate with one of three Bosnia's constituent peoples.

The ministers expressed concern over the lack of “tangible progress” in the adoption of measures that would ensure the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the country's electoral legislation are fully in line with the ECHR's rulings.

According to Fena news agency, the Committee showed a great interest in the information about the establishing of the inter-agency working group that will be in charge of preparing and amending the electoral legislation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and called on the authorities to provide a regular update on the further steps in this process.

The ministers also urged Bosnian authorities to make sure the draft proposal of changes to the Constitution and the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina is prepared by September 1, 2021, so that the 2022 elections are held in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights.