Today, the President of the Croatian National Assembly Dragan Čović sent a new letter to the addresses of the ambassadors to B&H, EU officials and EPP officials in order to inform them, according to the HDZ, about the events related to the local elections in the City of Mostar.
As he stated, he is worried about the events related to the local elections in the City of Mostar.
- The local elections in the City of Mostar were held on December 20th and were welcomed as a long-desired and much-needed move. I believe we share mutual concerns over the fact that even a month after the polls closed, the election results are still unknown! Instead of the results, which we should have had immediately after the election, they are still being manipulated and speculated in various ways, which is unacceptable! The chain of irregularities that I pointed out in previous correspondence, and of which you are aware, has brought great uncertainty to the fate of the entire election process. That is why I warned international partners of the need for strict supervision of the election process, all in order to protect the integrity of local elections and restore the democratic splendor that belongs to this city - said Čović.
As he stated, he demanded the irrevocable resignation of the members of the CEC and the City Election Commission of the City of Mostar.
- Of course, having in mind the seriousness of the situation, resignations cannot be enough. The competent prosecutors are involved in the whole story, with plenty of evidence, with the aim of prosecuting and precisely determining the responsibility within that institution, but also the participants outside it. Today, it is completely clear that the way in which the Central Election Commission was elected, outside the law and prescribed procedures, was already a kind of overture to the devastation of the election process, which we are unfortunately witnessing today. Let's be clear, these are acts of aggravated theft, alienation of the democratic rights of our citizens. Therefore, I firmly believe that the forthcoming trials in this area should be exposed to the public court in order to raise public awareness of the harmfulness and inadmissibility of such actions and the abuse of state institutions such as the Central Election Commission for illegal actions. The Central Election Commission is an institution that has a legal obligation and responsibility over the organization and implementation of elections, and if we all go over it lightly, and I do not see how it is possible, the question is what chance and perspective do the next general elections in 2022 have?! – Čović stated.
He stated that the Croatian National Assembly of B&H has filed criminal charges with the Prosecutor's Office of B&H and the Prosecutor's Office of the Herzegovina-Neretva County, now supplemented by "findings that fictitious voters began to return to their real addresses due to the end of the elections".
- That is why the Croatian representatives requested the annulment or repetition of the election process in urban areas where fictitious applications appeared. It is estimated that the party I lead and its candidate for mayor were undoubtedly alienated by the election fraud, ie. stolen close to 2000 votes. This is confirmed by analysts as well as our pre-election research, which precisely predicted 14 or 15 mandates in the City Council for the Croatian Democratic Union of B&H - says Čović.
The letter was addressed to Johann Sattler, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Bosnia and Herzegovina / Office of the EU Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Eric Nelson, Ambassador of the United States Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Valentin Inzko, High Representative of the Office of the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina , Kathleen Kavalec, Ambassadors of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the B&H Central Election Commission, Josep Borrell, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Olivér Várhely, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy Paul Rangel, European Parliament Rapporteur for Bosnia and Herzegovina, David McAllister, Chairman of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee (EPFAC), Romeo Franz, Chairman of the Delegation for relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, Donald Tusk, President of the European People's Party (EPP), Manfred Weber, chairman EPP group in the European Parliament.
