The Ambassadors of the Peace Implementation Council’s Steering Board (PIC SBA) noted on Tuesday that the recent publication in the Republika Srpska (RS) entity's Official Gazette of the RS Election Law and the Referendum and Civic Initiative Law is seeking to usurp responsibilities of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CEC BiH) and create parallel legal frameworks, the PIC SBA noted in their public statement.

“As such, these laws breach the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina and pose risks to the conduct of the upcoming elections,” they warned, adding that the international community will not allow any undermining of state competencies through the establishment of a parallel electoral system in the RS.”

the PIC SBA called on eligible political actors to ensure the protection of the state by bringing such laws for judicial review of their compliance with the BiH constitutional and legal order.

“The PIC SBA underscores the dangerous and destabilizing consequences of the attacks against the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (GFAP) and the constitutional and legal order of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Such attacks include both legislative and political acts which attempt to undermine the competencies of the state,” the PIC SBA said in their statement.

They reminded all political actors in the country that the international community retains the necessary instruments to respond to these actions and that it stands fully united in the need to protect the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and multiethnic character of the country.

“The PIC SBA reiterates that the entities within Bosnia and Herzegovina are not states. They exist solely by virtue of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and have no sovereignty of their own. Sovereignty resides in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a single state, with its territorial integrity guaranteed by the GFAP. The GFAP provides for the continued presence of both entities,” they said.

“The SBA also strongly rejects the false narrative that the existence of the entity of Republika Srpska is under threat or challenged from any local or international actor,” international community representatives in BiH concluded.