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3. Rules and Regulations in 2000
Presently, Annex 3 of
the General Framework Agreement for Peace governs elections in BiH.
It says, among other things "The Parties request the OSCE
to adopt and put in place an elections program for Bosnia and Herzegovina
as set forth in this Agreement . . . To this end, the Parties request
the OSCE to establish a Provisional Election Commission (PEC)."
The PEC adopted Rules and Regulations for all aspects of the electoral
process for all levels in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Organization
for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is chairing the PEC.
The Rules and Regulations
have changed with each election held. The Rules and Regulations-as
they were used during the 2000 general elections-resemble the Draft
Election Law. Thus, many of the features and objectives considered
necessary for a good electoral system and a fair election law in
Bosnia and Herzegovina have already been tested through the appliance
of Rules and Regulations in the past elections.
The OSCE Elections Department
and PEC have been in charge of the development of Rules and Regulations
while the Office of the High Representative (OHR), in cooperation
with international experts and the OSCE, has been in charge of the
development of the Draft Election Law. Please see section 4 for
more information regarding the draft election law.
In the following section,
some of the more interesting components in the Rules and Regulations
will be examined.
The electoral system
in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as outlined in the Rules and Regulations
for the 2000 general elections, has been shaped in the light of
recent history. It has been the explicit objective of OHR and OSCE
to promote four main goals through the electoral design:
- Fostering inter-ethnic reconciliation;
- Reducing nationalist and extremist politics;
- Encouraging moderate and multi-ethnic politics
and candidates; and
- Encouraging moderate elements within nationalist
political parties.
The level of success of the electoral design
in achieving these objectives is vigorously debated in Bosnia and
Herzegovina. We shall explain the rationale behind the current design.
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