Following the 7th general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Secretary General Jagland published the following statement:
“The voters in Bosnia and Herzegovina have voted to elect their representatives in elections which appear to have been conducted in line with technical standards for free and fair elections. The newly elected bodies will face a colossal challenge to reverse the current economic situation and improve social conditions. For this they need and will receive all our support. At the same time, we cannot ignore the fact that this was another second election ignoring the Sejdic and Finci judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, which ask Bosnia and Herzegovina to change its constitution. Yet again, a significant number of citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina have been deprived of their right to stand for the highest office because they belong to the wrong ethnic group. Bosnia and Herzegovina will receive our support, and it needs to change its constitution soon. A prosperous and stable Bosnia and Herzegovina will require a constitutional and legal set-up that allows all citizens the right to compete in elections for the highest office in the country, and allows its citizens to live with each other, and does not keep them apart.”