A delegation of the ‟Reflection Group on Mostar” carried out a visit to Sarajevo and Mostar, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, from 25 to 26 June 2018. This Group was put in place by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe to contribute to a sustainable solution for restoring local democracy in the city of Mostar, which has not held local elections since 2008 due to a political impasse.
On 25 June, the delegation held exchanges of views, in Sarajevo, with Lidija BRADARA, Speaker of the House of Peoples of the FBiH, Irena HADZIABDIC, President of the Central Election Commission of BiH, Sefik DZAFEROVIC, First Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, and Valentin INZKO, High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Briefings were also held with representatives of the diplomatic community in Sarajevo and with the Head of the Council of Europe Office, Ambassador Drahoslav STEFANEK.
On 26 June, a round table discussion will be organised in Mostar with representatives of major political parties represented in the City Council of Mostar and representatives of the coalition of NGOs which organised the ‟Elect Mostar” initiative (unofficial vote) on 2 October 2016.
This visit is part of the activities of the Congress to promote local and regional democracy in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The next steps include a mission to observe the regional elections in the country scheduled for October 2018 and a monitoring visit, in November 2018, to evaluate the implementation of the European Charter of Local Self-Government.
Members of the delegation:
- Mr Anders KNAPE (Congress, EPP/CCE, Sweden), President of the Chamber of Local Authorities of the Congress
- Mr Stewart DICKSON (Congress, ILDG, United Kingdom), Thematic Spokesperson on observation of local and regional elections, Rapporteur of the 2016 Election Observation Mission to BiH
- Mrs Barbara TOCE (Congress, SOC, Italy), Vice-President of the Congress
- Dr. Franz SCHAUSBERGER (EU), Member of the Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs (CIVEX), Chair of the CoR's Working Group on Western Balkans
- Expert - Prof. Dr. jur. Jens WOELK; Associate Professor of Comparative Constitutional Law, member of the Congress Group of Independent Experts on the European Charter of Local Self‑Government
Press:
A meeting with the press will take place on 26 June at 4 pm, in Mostar (Hotel Mepas, Kneza Višeslava b.b. Mostar, Princess Hall).
Accreditations: [email protected]
Photos: FLICKR
See also:
- Web page on the "Reflection Group on Mostar"
- Web page on the observation of local and regional elections
Contact:
Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
Renate ZIKMUND
Head of Division, Local and Regional Election Observation
Tel: +33 (0)6 59 78 64 55
[email protected]
