Ministers from the Republika Srpska (RS) in the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) voted against allowing Romanian, Slovenian, and Polish citizens to vote in BiH for the European elections. This decision came as a reaction to these countries' support for the Srebrenica Resolution at the UN, confirmed Elmedin Konakovic, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of BiH, to Radio Free Europe (RSE).

The European Parliament elections, which began on June 3 in Estonia and will last until June 9, include early voting in some countries. The Council of Ministers of BiH's decision on May 3, which was rejected, would have also allowed Romanian citizens in BiH to vote in their country's elections.

The Council of Ministers of BiH is responsible for decisions regarding voting in foreign embassies within BiH. On June 3, it was announced that the first round of voting on this issue took place on May 28, but the requests did not secure the necessary majority, leading to further consultations.

In the second round of voting on June 3, there was no consensus to accept the diplomatic notes from the embassies of Poland, Slovenia, and Romania in Sarajevo to organize voting for their citizens residing in BiH.

“I want to emphasize that this has never happened in such an uncivilized manner, not even with countries with which we have ‘tense’ relations. The most important thing is that we have communicated with the countries and embassies towards which RS ministers acted very improperly, and there will be no damage to our relations, as people understand this well,” Konakovic told RFE.

Radio Free Europe contacted BiH Minister of Security Nenad Nesic, who did not provide reasons why RS ministers opposed the voting rights for Romanian, Slovenian, and Polish citizens in BiH for the European Parliament elections.

“Consensus was not reached,” Nesic briefly stated.

On May 23, the UN General Assembly adopted a Resolution declaring July 11 as the International Day of Remembrance for the Srebrenica Genocide. The Resolution, which calls for an end to genocide denial and the glorification of war criminals, faced opposition from leaders in Serbia and the RS entity of BiH.