Third Annual Conference in Sarajevo

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Dear Excellency, ministers, dear colleagues,

I want to call you colleagues, because we are all her on the same course, the same road, and that road is the establishment of democratic freedom in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Seeing all of the guests from all over the world here today, I see how much effort has been put into what we have today. It really is a great honor and a real satisfaction to be with you for the opening of the Third Annual Conference of the Association of Election Officials in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) Mission is proud of having fathered this Association in 1999. OSCE is particularly proud that this baby has fully grown up within only two years. It is now a healthy adult. It no longer depends on this Mission. Instead, the Mission has been depending on it as an indispensable partner in preparing and conducting elections.

This is a decisive moment for Bosnia-Herzegovina. Once again congratulations also to the Parliament of Bosnia-Herzegovina on the adoption of the Election Law. It certainly was not easy reaching a compromise, but on August 28th, 2001 this Law was adopted, and the Election Commission of Bosnia-Herzegovina was appointed on November 16th. This Commission held its constitutive session on November 20th and established its Secretariat, which is fully at work. By the end of this year, new Municipal Election Commissions will be in place and they will report directly to the central Election Commission.

And then, the exciting count-down for the elections will start. The following speakers will talk in detail about the tasks ahead of us. Indeed, the time-lines are extremely short and we must not waste time. We all must combine our efforts. Municipal Election Commissions and others each have to do its share.

The Association of Election Officials of Bosnia-Herzegovina will play an even more important role than before. Looking at your agenda and work program, I see that you are fully aware of it. The topics of your professional workshops reflect the tasks which you are commendably prepared to assume: education on the Election Law; funding and budgeting of the work of the Municipal Election Commissions; voter education; voter registration; selection and training of Polling Station Committee members.

Fair, democratic, timely and flawless elections next year depend first of all on the qualification, motivation and impartiality of the new Election Commission.

Being one of its humble international members, I can assure you that the four BiH members, as well as the General Secretary fully meet these requirements and deserve our unrestricted confidence. With their experience, they have taken ownership already.

The budget for next year's elections must be submitted by the Council of Ministers as soon as possible so that the Parliament can adopt it. I believe that this process has been very slow, as was the implementation of the Constitutional Court decision on constituent peoples.

It is true that the Election Law does not really regulate the three areas of indirect elections that will take place next year - that is the Federation House of People and the election of president and vice-president of both entities. It is very important to fill this void in the Election Law, and comply with the Constitutional Court decision.

However, there is no room for panic yet. There are certain things that need to be done for voters; voters need to be educated and sufficient technical and political preparation must be carried out so that the elections take place as planned, as any delay for any reason would not be satisfactory to the Council of Europe and other European institutions.

What is the OSCE role in the future electoral process?

The times have passed when the OSCE organized, conducted and financed every single activity connected with the elections. However, the OSCE is still ready, if asked, to offer all of its technical assistance and resources necessary and to share its experiences from previous years.

Our mandate was to promote a stable, democratic, civil society as a prerequisite for the functioning of parliamentary life, for the functioning of the government. This is what we did in the past through strengthening the civil sector, and by this I mean the nongovernmental organization first and foremost, by offering training, educating the NGO sector, organizing meetings, and strengthening this civil society group. We have also given attention to the role of women in over all life, so that their voice be heard in the socio-political sphere, and so that they, as voters, become self-aware.

As for the election campaign, the decision on this issues will be of critical importance as it will answer the question where this country wants to go, and what the party platforms of the political parties partaking in the election campaign are like.

We hope that in future elections we will enter a phase when all the election participants and all political parties will act in a democratic manner so that the voters on their part will be able to choose from a number of democratic options available to them.

Once again, you will surely play an important role in this process, thus this Conference here today. I wish you luck and success in your work.