Bosnian Opposition Seeks Solution to Mostar Deadlock

Two of the main opposition Bosnian parties, the Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina (SDPBiH) and the Democratic Front (DF), are presenting a joint proposal for the reform of Mostar's electoral statute in order to end the city's political deadlock.

"We are calling on all parties to join in with our proposal and to support it," Branimir Jukic, the head of the DF's board in the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, told BIRN on Monday.

"Under our proposal, Mostar will remain a united city," Jukic said.

An ethnically-based row over power-sharing in Mostar has seen its administration paralysed for years.

The leading Bosniak party, the Party of Democratic Action, SDA, wants the city divided into several municipalities for voting purposes, while the leading Croat party, the Croatian Democratic Union, HDZBiH, stands for "one man, one vote", counting on the fact that the city has a Croat majority.

Their failure to agree meant that Mostar was the only municipality in which local elections weren't held the last time around, in 2012.

Jukic said that the two parties' proposed electoral reform will be submitted to the Bosnian parliament, but did not specify a date.

"It's crucial to find a quick solution for the city and to organise local elections in Mostar this year," he explained.

He said that according to a recent poll conducted by his party, "more than 90 per cent of Mostar residents said they want new local elections as soon as possible".

In the proposal developed by the SDPBiH and DF, Mostar will remain a unique municipality, whose territory will be divided into three multi-ethnic electoral constituencies, instead of the existing six.

According to the proposal, the 35 seats inside the city council will be...