Overcoming the Dual Imbalance of Power: Geographical Distribution Requirements in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
PS8-2
Presented by: Ivan Pepic
Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is a deeply divided society composed of three ethnic groups (Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs) and other citizens, and two asymmetric territorial-administrative entities, the Serb-dominated Republika Srpska (RS) and the Bosniak-Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH). The FBiH is further divided into ten autonomous cantons, four of which have a Croat majority and six of which have a Bosniak majority.
The current crisis in BiH is asymmetric as well. It affects the disputes between the two entities (RS and FBiH), and within the FBiH, between Bosniaks and Croats over the electoral legislation. While Bosniak leaders promote strong centripetalism and majoritarian solutions, the Croat leadership asks for more autonomy and strong consociational features.
The paper explores the application of a cross-ethnic voting mechanism defined as the "geographic distribution requirements". This centripetal mechanism prescribes that the winning candidate must obtain the majority of votes and achieve pre-determined territorial thresholds, without considering the ethnic affiliation of the candidates. The geographic distribution requirements guarantee cross-regional and cross-ethnic support, but at the same time could be designed to include both consociational and centripetal features.
This electoral system could be explored as an innovative electoral power-sharing mechanism to accommodate Bosniak majority and Croat minority groups within the FBiH, including for the election of the Croat member for the tripartite Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Several models will be proposed for deblocking one of the major political crises in Europe ahead of 2022 BiH’s general elections.
The current crisis in BiH is asymmetric as well. It affects the disputes between the two entities (RS and FBiH), and within the FBiH, between Bosniaks and Croats over the electoral legislation. While Bosniak leaders promote strong centripetalism and majoritarian solutions, the Croat leadership asks for more autonomy and strong consociational features.
The paper explores the application of a cross-ethnic voting mechanism defined as the "geographic distribution requirements". This centripetal mechanism prescribes that the winning candidate must obtain the majority of votes and achieve pre-determined territorial thresholds, without considering the ethnic affiliation of the candidates. The geographic distribution requirements guarantee cross-regional and cross-ethnic support, but at the same time could be designed to include both consociational and centripetal features.
This electoral system could be explored as an innovative electoral power-sharing mechanism to accommodate Bosniak majority and Croat minority groups within the FBiH, including for the election of the Croat member for the tripartite Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Several models will be proposed for deblocking one of the major political crises in Europe ahead of 2022 BiH’s general elections.