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SARAJEVO, March 25 (FENA) - The Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ambassador Kathleen Kavalec, at today's press conference in Sarajevo said she was surprised that the progress that could have been made in the context of the accession to the European Union was not realized when it was quite possible.
Asked to comment on yesterday's session of the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly and rejection to adopt the laws that are part of the priorities on BiH's European path, she said that it was surprising and disappointing.
She noted that the OSCE Mission, along with other international institutions, is committed to the adoption of conflict of interest laws, improvements in the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council, and also supports amendments to the Public Procurement Law.
"We have invested a lot of effort in that and we believe that these laws were ready for adoption. It is really surprising that the progress that could have been made in the context of this goal of joining the European Union, was not realized at a time when it was quite possible," said Ambassador Kavalec.
As for the electoral reform process, she says they are also disappointed that no progress has been made in improving the electoral process during recent talks, especially in the area of electoral integrity.
However, Ambassador Kavalec points out that this does not mean that there are still no ways to make it happen.
"The OSCE Mission is working in several areas, working with the Central Election Commission, to assist in the development of an online platform for online voter registration, political entities, political parties, polling stations. Activities on the implementation of this initiative are underway. Then, there are voter register revision activities. This was done in the Brčko District. So, it seems that it is possible to do that. That does not require a reform of the Election Law," said Kavalec.
She added that they will continue to insist on the implementation of the ODIHR recommendations and make improvements in all possible areas, whether those areas are reform of the Election Law, improvement of procedures or perhaps taking other steps.
She added that if the Parliament could continue to work on the adoption of some of the amendments, especially those aimed at improving the integrity of the electoral process, they would support it.
Referring to the recent talks on changes to the Election Law in Neum, she said that it was clear at the time that there were many areas in which the parties could reach an agreement and reasonable improvements in the election process.
She noted that a lot of effort has been put into drafting, that enough had already been done and that it would be "quite simple for Parliament to adopt these changes".
"We hope that this is still possible and that it can happen quickly, certainly before May 2, before the elections are officially announced," said Ambassador Kavalec.
(FENA) S. R.
