The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe decided, during its session in October 2017, to put in place a ‟Reflection Group on Mostar”. The aim is 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.

The Reflection Group aims at:

  • advocating, at local and European level, in favour of a sustainable legal and political solution to restore local democracy in the City of Mostar;
  • bringing together major local and European stakeholders to dialogue in order to gradually overcome the obstacles for holding local elections in Mostar;
  • supporting local civil society organisations in their efforts to raise awareness about the current political situation and peaceful interethnic relations among local communities.
Composition of the ‟Reflection Group on Mostar”

The composition of the Group has been approved by the Bureau of the Congress on 26 March 2018.

Congress Full Members

  • Mr Anders KNAPE (EPP/CCE, Sweden), President of the Chamber of Local Authorities of the Congress
  • Mr Piero FASSINO (SOC, Italy), President of the SOC Group
  • Mr Stewart DICKSON (ILDG, United Kingdom), Thematic Spokesperson on observation of local and regional elections and Rapporteur of the 2016 Election Observation Mission to BiH

Congress Supplementary Members

  • Jos WIENEN (EPP/CEE, the Netherlands), Thematic Spokesperson on observation of local and regional elections
  • Barbara TOCE (SOC, Italy), Vice-President of the Congress
  • Carla DE JONGHE (ILDG, Belgium), Rapporteur of the 2018 Monitoring of local and regional democracy in BiH

EU Committee of the Regions

  • Dr. Franz SCHAUSBERGER, Member of the Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs (CIVEX), Chair of the CoR's Working Group on Western Balkans
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Back High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina considers the holding of local elections as a matter of urgency for the city of Mostar

High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina considers the holding of local elections as a matter of urgency for the city of Mostar

At a meeting with a delegation from the Congress "Reflection Group on Mostar" held on 25 June in Sarajevo, Valentin INZKO, the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), underlined that it was crucial to get out of the deadlock in the city of Mostar where no elections have been held since 2008. "This undermines the confidence of citizens in the functioning of the institutions that govern them," he said.

"Solutions exist to amend the Electoral Law, but this will require a compromise between the different parties," Inzko added, welcoming the role of international institutions such as the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe. He also underlined the importance of the negotiations held at the local level.

The visit of the delegation is part of the work of the Reflection Group with a view to contributing to a sustainable solution for the organisation of local elections in the city of Mostar. In this context, two Round Tables were held on 26 June 2018 in Mostar with representatives of major political parties represented in the City Council of Mostar and with representatives of the coalition of NGOs which organised the ‟Elect Mostar” initiative (unofficial vote) on 2 October 2016.

 

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

 

Photos: FLICKR

“Reflection Group on Mostar”: Round-table and high level meetings in Bosnia and Herzegovina

 

See also:

 

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]

Elections Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina 25 June 2018
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Contact

Monitoring Committee and Observation of local and regional elections

Committee Secretary
Stéphanie Poirel
Assistant: Ekaterina Kotnova
 + 33 3 90 21 52 44