ISSN 1847-2397 godište II broj 1 2009. | volume II number 1 2009
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ISSN 1847-2397 godište II broj 1 2009. | volume II number 1 2009

ISSN 1847-2397 godište II broj 1 2009. | volume II number 1 2009 ISSN 1847-2397 godište II broj 1 2009. | volume II number 1 2009

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Maja Sahadžić: The Electoral System of Bosnia and Herzegovinasuvremene TEME, (2009.) God. 2, Br. 1CONTEMPORARY issues, (2009) Vol. 2, No. 1Mandate distribution is being done by proportionalrepresentation formula. Number ofdelegates from each canton is proportionalto the number of voters and national structureof each canton is determined by populationcensus from 1991. It has to be bared inmind that demographic and national structureof Bosnia and Herzegovina is severelychanged during war and ethnic cleansing1992 – 1995. In this manner, there has tobe done new population census to be ableto determine real national structure of eachcanton.5. The President of and two Vice-presidentsof Republic of Srpska are being elected directlyby citizens registered to vote in Republicof Srpska. 32 Mandate distribution isbeing done by plurality principle applyingpreferential voting, so as in election of Presidencyof Bosnia and Herzegovina. In fact,Sumantra Bose suggests that the AlternativeVote system used for the Republic ofSrpska presidential elections poses considerableproblems that it is probably fortunatethat the designers of Bosnia’s Electoral Laweventually decided not to make the electionsto the tripartite Bosnia and Herzegovinastate presidency dependent on an AV[alternative voting] type multiple/preferentialvoting system (Bose: 2002: 238).6. The National Assembly of the Republic ofSrpska consists of 83 members, who areamong Bosniaks, seventeen (17) from among Serbs, seventeen(17) from among Croats and seven (7) delegates fromthe rank of Others. By Article 10.11 the representatives fromamong Bosniaks, Croats, Serbs and Others in each Canton’sAssembly shall elect delegates of their respective constituentpeoples in that Canton. Each party represented in therespective caucuses of the constituent peoples and Othersor each member of one of these caucuses shall be entitledto nominate one or more candidates on a list for election ofdelegates of that particular caucus from that Canton. Eachlist can include a larger number of candidates than is thenumber of delegates to be elected on the condition that thelegislature of the Canton has a larger number of delegatesfrom among Bosniaks, Croats, Serbs and Others than is thenumber of delegates from amongst Bosniaks, Croats, Serbsand Others that ought to be elected to the House of Peoples.32 By Article 12.1 of the Electoral Law of Bosnia and Herzegovinathe President and two (2) Vice-presidents of Republicof Srpska shall be directly elected from the territory ofRepublic of Srpska by voters registered to vote for Republicof Srpska. By Article 12.2 voters registered to vote for thePresident of the Republic of Srpska may vote for one candidateonly. By Article 12.3 candidates from each constituentpeople receiving the highest number of votes shall be elected.Among these three (3) candidates, one from each constituentpeople, the candidate receiving the highest numberof votes shall be elected President and the two candidatesreceiving the second and third highest number of votes shallbe elected Vice-presidents.being directly elected by voters registeredto vote for the Republic of Srpska. Proportionalrepresentation formula of mandatedistribution is applied along with distributionof compensatory mandates. 337. The Council of Peoples of Republic of Srpskais consisted of 28 delegates, 8 fromamong Bosniaks, 8 from among Serbs, 8from among Croats and 4 representativesof Others elected by their caucuses in theNational Assembly of the Republic of Srpska.This council is parity-based so thateach constituent people can have the samenumber of delegates. 34 This house was es-33 By Article 11.1 of the Electoral Law of Bosnia and Herzegovinathe National Assembly of the Republic of Srpskashall consist of eighty-three (83) members, who shall be directlyelected by voters registered to vote for the Republicof Srpska. A certain number of members shall be electedfrom multi – member constituencies under the proportionalrepresentation formula set forth in Article 9.5 of this law.There shall be compensatory mandates from the Republicof Srpska as a whole according to Article 9.6 of this law.The National Assembly of the Republic of Srpska shall determine,based solely on the guidelines set forth in Article11.2 of this law, what shall be the number of mandates andboundaries for multi-member constituencies and the numberof compensatory mandates. A minimum number of four (4)members of each constituent people shall be represented inthe National Assembly of Republic of Srpska. A voter shallhave one ballot for the proportional representation mandatesin the multi-member constituency for which the voter is registered.The mandate of members of the National Assembly ofthe Republic of Srpska shall be four (4) years. By Article 11.2the National Assembly of the Republic of Srpska shall determine,based solely on the guidelines set forth in this article,the number of mandates and boundaries for multi-memberconstituencies and the number of compensatory mandates.Of the eighty-three (83) mandates for the National Assembly,between twenty-three percent (23%) and twenty-seven percent(27%) shall be compensatory mandates. The remainingmandates shall be allocated in multi-member constituencies.There shall be a minimum of six (6) multi-member constituencies.A multi-member constituency shall have a minimumof four (4) members and a maximum of fifteen (15) members.The Brčko District shall be included in one of the multi-memberconstituencies. The number of mandates for a constituencyshall be determined as follows: the number of registeredvoters for the Republic of Srpska, as determined by theCentral Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina,shall be divided by the total number of constituency mandatesto be allocated. The number of registered voters for aconstituency shall be divided by the quotient resulting fromthe previous division to determine the number of mandatesto which the constituency is entitled. Mandates which cannotbe allocated based on whole numbers shall be allocated toconstituencies on the basis of the highest remainders.34 By Article 11.11 of the Electoral Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina,the members of the Council of Peoples shall beelected by their respective caucus in the National Assembly.In the event that the number of members elected toone caucus of the Council of Peoples exceeds the numberof the representatives of the respective caucus of the NationalAssembly, an additional number of members shall beelected by a caucus to be established for that purpose fromcentar za politološka istraživanjathe political science research centrewww.cpi.hr74

Maja Sahadžić: The Electoral System of Bosnia and Herzegovinasuvremene TEME, (2009.) God. 2, Br. 1CONTEMPORARY issues, (2009) Vol. 2, No. 1tablished by High Representative for Bosniaand Herzegovina intervention in 2002,but solution that was imposed is not symmetricalto Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.This house can be apprehended asintervening house, but National Assembly ofthe Republic of Srpska still makes decisionsas unicameral body while House of Peoplesof the Parliament of the Federation of Bosniaand Herzegovina acts as equal to Houseof Representatives of the Parliament of theFederation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.8. We have to be aware that there are alsoelections for Cantonal Assemblies, MunicipalCouncils/Assemblies, and City Councils/Assemblies so as elections for Brčko Districtand City of Mostar that will not be discussedhere for the limited length of paper.Bosnia’s peculiar constitutional structurehas the effect of segmenting the electoral marketplacealong ethnic lines. At the same time,it creates a patchwork quilt of political arenas,each with varying degrees of ethnic integrationand each with different rules for promoting ethnicintegration. In all of Bosnia’s elections, however,parties tend to compete for the votes of asingle ethnic community. No politician needs thesupport of anyone from another ethnic group inorder to get elected. There are certain officesfor which the system is structured to ensure thatmembers of a given ethnic group vote only fortheir own representatives (Manning, 2004: 71).6. ConclusionThe fundaments of the electoral systemin Bosnia and Herzegovina are based on theConstitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Annexamong all members of the appropriate constituent peoplesin the Municipal Assemblies in Republic of Srpska. By Article11.12 any political party represented in the caucuses of thetheir respective constituent peoples and the Others or anymember of one of these caucuses, including ad hoc memberselected in accordance with Article 11.11, Paragraph 2,shall have the right to propose one or more candidates onthe list for election of members of that relevant caucus. Anylist may contain a number of candidates that is larger thanthe number of members to be elected. No delegate in theNational Assembly or councilor of the Municipal Assemblymay be a candidate. Each delegate in the National Assemblyshall cast one vote for a list within his or her caucus. The voteshall be cast as a secret ballot. By Article 11.13 the results ofthe votes shall be communicated to the Election Commissionfor the final allocation of seats. Mandates shall be distributed,one by one, to the lists or candidate with the highestquotients resulting from the proportional allocation formulaprovided for in Article 9.5. of the Electoral Law of Bosnia andHerzegovina. When a list wins a mandate, the mandate shallbe allocated from the top of the list.IV, Dayton Peace Accords) and the ElectoralLaw of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We can percievethat there are two normative frames of regulatingan electoral system. Constitutional provisionson elections are very brief and short whichleads us to the point that we can determine worthinessand effects of the electoral system onlyon grounds of the Electoral Law of Bosnia andHerzegovina as a specific legal document relatedto elections and the electoral system.During the temporary electoral systemin Bosnia and Herezgovina, electoral legislationwas not adopted by authorised bodies but by theProvisional Election Commission, with supportof the OSCE. Rules and regulations were oftenchanged which affected voters and political partiesand candidates.It is not common that the Electoral Lawand related terms are at least in principles distinctedand specified in an constitution. Also,concerning the legal nature of Dayton Peace Accords,it is not strange that provisions of this kindare not explicitly and/or specifically part of ArticleII (Human rights and Fundamental Freedoms)of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina(Annex IV, Dayton Peace Accords). Concerninghuman rights and fundamental freedoms, ithas to be said that there is no integrative andconsistant approach in application of the Constitutionof Bosnia and Herezgovina in respectto international human rights standards namedespecially in the 1950 European Conventionfor the Protection of Human Rights and FundamentalFreedoms, 1966 International Covenanton Civil and Political Rights and 1989 OptionalProtocols thereto that form an integral part of thelegal system of Bosnia and Herzegovina throughAnnex I (Additional Human Rights Agreementsto be Applied in Bosnia and Herzegovina) ofConstitution of Bosnia and Herezgovina (AnnexIV, Dayton Peace Accords). The electoral procedurefor election of members of the Presidencyof Bosnia and Herzegovina and/or House ofPeoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosniaand Herezgovina is not in accordance withthe documents mentioned. Bosniaks and Croatson Republic of Srpska territory cannot elect theirrepresentatives and Serbs in the Federation ofBosnia and Herzegovina cannot elect their representativesin those institutions. On the otherside, the electoral system of Bosnia and Herzegovinashows national and ethnic representation.The representation of Others is not defined,especially when it comes to elections forthe Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina andthe House of Peoples of the Parliamentary As-centar za politološka istraživanjathe political science research centrewww.cpi.hr75

Maja Sahadžić: The Electoral System of Bosnia and Herzegovinasuvremene TEME, (<strong><strong>2009</strong>.</strong>) God. 2, Br. 1CONTEMPORARY issues, (<strong>2009</strong>) Vol. 2, No. 1Mandate distribution is being done by proportionalrepresentation formula. Number ofdelegates from each canton is proportionalto the <strong>number</strong> of voters and national structureof each canton is determined by populationcensus from 1991. It has to be bared inmind that demographic and national structureof Bosnia and Herzegovina is severelychanged during war and ethnic cleansing1992 – 1995. In this manner, there has tobe done new population census to be ableto determine real national structure of eachcanton.5. The President of and two Vice-presidentsof Republic of Srpska are being elected directlyby citizens registered to vote in Republicof Srpska. 32 Mandate distribution isbeing done by plurality principle applyingpreferential voting, so as in election of Presidencyof Bosnia and Herzegovina. In fact,Sumantra Bose suggests that the AlternativeVote system used for the Republic ofSrpska presidential elections poses considerableproblems that it is probably fortunatethat the designers of Bosnia’s Electoral Laweventually decided not to make the electionsto the tripartite Bosnia and Herzegovinastate presidency dependent on an AV[alternative voting] type multiple/preferentialvoting system (Bose: 2002: 238).6. The National Assembly of the Republic ofSrpska consists of 83 members, who areamong Bosniaks, seventeen (17) from among Serbs, seventeen(17) from among Croats and seven (7) delegates fromthe rank of Others. By Article 10.11 the representatives fromamong Bosniaks, Croats, Serbs and Others in each Canton’sAssembly shall elect delegates of their respective constituentpeoples in that Canton. Each party represented in therespective caucuses of the constituent peoples and Othersor each member of one of these caucuses shall be entitledto nominate one or more candidates on a list for election ofdelegates of that particular caucus from that Canton. Eachlist can include a larger <strong>number</strong> of candidates than is the<strong>number</strong> of delegates to be elected on the condition that thelegislature of the Canton has a larger <strong>number</strong> of delegatesfrom among Bosniaks, Croats, Serbs and Others than is the<strong>number</strong> of delegates from amongst Bosniaks, Croats, Serbsand Others that ought to be elected to the House of Peoples.32 By Article 12.1 of the Electoral Law of Bosnia and Herzegovinathe President and two (2) Vice-presidents of Republicof Srpska shall be directly elected from the territory ofRepublic of Srpska by voters registered to vote for Republicof Srpska. By Article 12.2 voters registered to vote for thePresident of the Republic of Srpska may vote for one candidateonly. By Article 12.3 candidates from each constituentpeople receiving the highest <strong>number</strong> of votes shall be elected.Among these three (3) candidates, one from each constituentpeople, the candidate receiving the highest <strong>number</strong>of votes shall be elected President and the two candidatesreceiving the second and third highest <strong>number</strong> of votes shallbe elected Vice-presidents.being directly elected by voters registeredto vote for the Republic of Srpska. Proportionalrepresentation formula of mandatedistribution is applied along with distributionof compensatory mandates. 337. The Council of Peoples of Republic of Srpskais consisted of 28 delegates, 8 fromamong Bosniaks, 8 from among Serbs, 8from among Croats and 4 representativesof Others elected by their caucuses in theNational Assembly of the Republic of Srpska.This council is parity-based so thateach constituent people can have the same<strong>number</strong> of delegates. 34 This house was es-33 By Article 11.1 of the Electoral Law of Bosnia and Herzegovinathe National Assembly of the Republic of Srpskashall consist of eighty-three (83) members, who shall be directlyelected by voters registered to vote for the Republicof Srpska. A certain <strong>number</strong> of members shall be electedfrom multi – member constituencies under the proportionalrepresentation formula set forth in Article 9.5 of this law.There shall be compensatory mandates from the Republicof Srpska as a whole according to Article 9.6 of this law.The National Assembly of the Republic of Srpska shall determine,based solely on the guidelines set forth in Article11.2 of this law, what shall be the <strong>number</strong> of mandates andboundaries for multi-member constituencies and the <strong>number</strong>of compensatory mandates. A minimum <strong>number</strong> of four (4)members of each constituent people shall be represented inthe National Assembly of Republic of Srpska. A voter shallhave one ballot for the proportional representation mandatesin the multi-member constituency for which the voter is registered.The mandate of members of the National Assembly ofthe Republic of Srpska shall be four (4) years. By Article 11.2the National Assembly of the Republic of Srpska shall determine,based solely on the guidelines set forth in this article,the <strong>number</strong> of mandates and boundaries for multi-memberconstituencies and the <strong>number</strong> of compensatory mandates.Of the eighty-three (83) mandates for the National Assembly,between twenty-three percent (23%) and twenty-seven percent(27%) shall be compensatory mandates. The remainingmandates shall be allocated in multi-member constituencies.There shall be a minimum of six (6) multi-member constituencies.A multi-member constituency shall have a minimumof four (4) members and a maximum of fifteen (15) members.The Brčko District shall be included in one of the multi-memberconstituencies. The <strong>number</strong> of mandates for a constituencyshall be determined as follows: the <strong>number</strong> of registeredvoters for the Republic of Srpska, as determined by theCentral Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina,shall be divided by the total <strong>number</strong> of constituency mandatesto be allocated. The <strong>number</strong> of registered voters for aconstituency shall be divided by the quotient resulting fromthe previous division to determine the <strong>number</strong> of mandatesto which the constituency is entitled. Mandates which cannotbe allocated based on whole <strong>number</strong>s shall be allocated toconstituencies on the basis of the highest remainders.34 By Article 11.11 of the Electoral Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina,the members of the Council of Peoples shall beelected by their respective caucus in the National Assembly.In the event that the <strong>number</strong> of members elected toone caucus of the Council of Peoples exceeds the <strong>number</strong>of the representatives of the respective caucus of the NationalAssembly, an additional <strong>number</strong> of members shall beelected by a caucus to be established for that purpose fromcentar za politološka istraživanjathe political science research centrewww.cpi.hr74

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