Bosnia draft constitution rejected
27/04/2006
(Sarajevo, DTT-NET.COM) - At the second day of heated discussions at
the parliament the draft constitution failed to win the support of
Bosnia and Herzegovina's House of Representatives on Wednesday night.
Amendments agreed earlier by eight main political parties of Bosnia
three ethnicities: Bosniaks (Bosnia Muslims), Croats and Serbs and
supported by US and EU, failed to have the support of 2/3 of delegates
present at the session, Bosnia radio (BH Radio 1) reported.
26 members of the House of Representatives voted in favour and 16 votes
against. The amendments proposed needed another two votes for adoption.
The issue of the voting rights of the ethnic entities was the main
reason that the draft failed to win the support this time of all
Bosniak delegates. Some Croat delegates also rejected it arguing that
the amendments didn't met the needs of their community.
US Ambasador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Douglas McElhaney, who attended
the two day session, told the radio that he was "disappointed with
those who didn't supported" the amendments.
Under old constitution, dating since the 1995 internationally brokered
Dayton Agreement which ended the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbs
were given their own entity: Republika Srpska (RS), while Croats merged
with majority Bosniaks into another entity, with all state attributes
and loose ties at federal level.
The new proposals rejected on Wednesday aimed to create more efficient
central institutions of the country and at the same time allow easier
negotiations for better ties with EU and NATO, where BiH aims to be
full member.
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