"The body is not elected according to the 'one-person-one-vote' principle, but rather according to the principle of proportional representation of constitutive peoples." "The legitimacy of the delegates is now purely ethnic," professor of constitutional law Nedim Ademović told Euronews. The distribution of the number of delegates from each canton also favours big ethnonationalist parties and their candidates, the first analyses show.
To simplify: Bosniaks decide which Bosniak peers from a certain canton will go to the House of Peoples, Serbs pick Serbs and Croats pick Croats, and the Others do the same thing. While the entire assemblies in each canton used to decide on which particular ethnic representatives would go to the House of Peoples, now it is only their ethnic caucus that gets to approve the delegates. However, the way the delegates are elected from cantonal assemblies has consolidated the three ethnic groups and their representatives and strengthened their power. Schmidt maintained that the current electoral law clashes with the entity-level constitution, while critics have accused him of colluding with the representatives of Bosniak Croats - who they claim are the only beneficiaries of these electoral changes. His ability to change things like the constitution fall under the so-called Bonn Powers - granted to the High Representative by the office’s overseeing and financing body, the Peace Implementation Council. Schmidt said on Sunday the changes imposed would “improve the functionality of institutions in the FBiH and enable all citizens to have their voice heard and be represented by those they elected.” Prior to Sunday, its 58 delegates were chosen from 10 assemblies or cantonal parliaments, whereby each of the three main ethnic groups in the country got 17 seats. Seven additional seats belong to Others - a constitutional category encompassing minorities but also citizens who do not identify with any of the three main ethnic groups. It also debates and can approve or veto motions passed by the lower house, the Parliamentary Assembly. The body elects the entity's president and two vice presidents, who then appoint the prime minister and their cabinet. The decision came just as the first preliminary results started trickling in, in an unprecedented choice to change rules mid-election and affect the indirect choice of voters. High Representative Schmidt informed the Bosnian public that he used his powers to restructure the entity-level FBiH House of Peoples and how its delegates are chosen amid the country's general election, and right after polling stations closed on Sunday night. What is the cause of the latest crisis in Bosnia? It also instituted the Office of the High Representative, a body financed by the international community with a mandate to enforce the civilian aspects of the peace accords. The peace agreement instituted two main administrative units in Bosnia: the Serb-dominated entity of Republika Srpska, or RS, and the Bosniak-Croat majority FBiH. Serbian, Bosnian, and Croatian leaders Slobodan Milošević, Alija Izetbegović, Franjo Tuđman and US Secretary of State Warren Christopher applaud in Dayton, 21 November 1995 Joe Marquette/AP
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