The influential British Financial Times FT published an analysis of the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina BiH and the high representative's intention to impose changes to the electoral law, and also addressed Russian influence in BiH.
The high representative appointed by the United Nations UN has pledged to end the four-year political blockade that has weakened the governance of the country, and he wants to preserve fragile stability and limit Russian influence, according to the FT.
Schmidt said that he resisted changing electoral rules before the vote in a way that would anger the country's three largest ethnic groups. He proposed post-election reforms to the country's constitutional system, one of the most complex in the world, with changes aimed at unblocking and finding a more representative political balance.
The constitution, designed as part of the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords that officially ended the three-and-a-half year war in Bosnia, aims to prevent larger ethnic groups from dominating smaller ones. It has been clarified in FT that the veto is used and abused as it leads to frequent obstructions and dysfunctional government.
We will give the people the right of decision. What I want to focus on is not the direct elections as they are but what comes after. We have seen a blockade for the past four years. Unblocking the structure is my job, I will do it. Schmidt told the FT that this is necessary.
The Croats could lose important controls in the Federation in the absence of Schmidt's election rules. It was written in FT that analysts fear that this could lead to a rejection of the election results, which could force Dodik to do the same, leading to major imbalances in the structure of the Bosnian state.
The article also analyzes that threats of secession destabilize the region, and reminds that Dodik has twice visited Moscow in the last three months.
Majda Ruge, a regional expert on the region at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said Russia's ability to assert its goals in Bosnia should not be overstated, given Moscow's limited economic power. She wrote last week that his goals overlap with those of his proxies in Bosnia, which rests on the fact that his goals overlap with those of his proxies in Bosnia.
The outcome of Sunday's election was difficult to predict because of the complex state structure and lack of reliable data, according to experts. There are several parties that are questioning the status quo, including an anti-corruption group called Trojka.
Political tensions have overshadowed other priorities for Bosnia, such as removing widespread corruption, ending the country's deep economic dysfunction and putting it on track for eventual EU integration, according to Klix.ba, who wrote in the FT.