Commission Statement on Elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission) and Co-Chairman Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL) today issued the following joint statement following Sunday's elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

"We congratulate the people of Bosnia-Herzegovina for the orderly conduct of Sunday's elections and the professional management of a complex electoral process.

"As the results are implemented and winners take office, we urge Bosnian citizens, especially the country's youth, to remain active in shaping their country's future. If Bosnia-Herzegovina is to integrate into Europe, it needs constitutional reform to make the country function effectively as a modern state, with elected leadership serving the whole country instead of the promoting their own interests within an ethnic balancing act. There is no better time than today – after a national election – for the people to press their leaders to begin work on these reforms.

"The United States and international community should continue to play a strong supporting role in Bosnia-Herzegovina, encouraging wider public and institutional participation in the constitutional reform process than has previously been the case."