VZCZCXRO4617
PP RUEHAST
DE RUEHVJ #2305/01 2721151
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 291151Z SEP 06
FM AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4511
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JCS WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHDC PRIORITY
RUFOAOA/USNIC SARAJEVO PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SARAJEVO 002305 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR DICARLO, EUR/SCE; NSC FOR BRAUN; OSD FOR 
FLORY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV BK
SUBJECT: BOSNIA CAMPAIGN 2006:  THE DAY AFTER 
 
REF: A. SARAJEVO 1891 
 
     ¶B. SARAJEVO 1916 
     ¶C. SARAJEVO 2281 
 
SARAJEVO 00002305  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (U)  This is the fourth in a planned series of 
election-related cables.  It provides information on the 
procedure and timeline for formation of governing coalitions 
in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 
 
 
¶2.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  Citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina will 
go to the polls October 1 to elect the three members of 
Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH) State-level Tri-Presidency; 
President and Vice President of the Republika Srpska (RS); 
and members of the state, entity and cantonal legislatures. 
(ref. A) According to Bosnian election law, the Central 
Election Commission (CEC) must certify poll results within 30 
days of the election.  In the case of elections this year, no 
later than October 31.  The newly-elected legislatures at the 
state, entity and cantonal levels, and directly elected 
executives, must take office within 30 days of the 
certification, i.e., by November 30.  The timeline could be 
shortened if, as in previous years, the CEC certifies the 
election results early.  After the new legislatures convene, 
governing coalitions are formed and governments at the state, 
entity and cantonal levels choose their ministers.  Formation 
of governing coalitions may take several weeks to several 
months.  We expect the new state government to be fully in 
place by mid-January 2007.  END SUMMARY. 
 
Forming the Governing Coalitions 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (U) Following the October 1 elections, the Central 
Election Commission (CEC) will have a maximum of 30 days to 
certify the election results for the Presidency, the State 
House of Representatives, entity parliaments and cantonal 
assemblies.   (Note:  Cantonal assemblies exist only in the 
Federation.  End Note.)  The newly elected state, entity and 
cantonal Houses of Representatives must convene within 30 
days of the announcement of the official election results, 
this year no later than November 30.  The State 
Tri-Presidency, and the President and Vice President of the 
Republika Srpska (RS), also take office 30 days following the 
certification. 
 
¶4.  (U) The CEC will hold press conferences at midnight on 
October 1, and at noon on Monday, October 2, during which it 
will announce preliminary, unofficial results.  In past 
elections, unofficial election results announced the day 
after the election (as opposed to the preliminary results 
announced on election night) generally have been accurate. 
CEC officials have told us the Commission is confident it 
will be able to announce the official results well in advance 
of the thirty-day deadline.  In 2002, it announced the 
results less than three weeks after the election. 
 
 
Choosing the State, Entity and Cantonal Prime Ministers 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶5.  (U) At the state level, once the parties agree on a 
governing coalition, the new coalition prepares a joint 
platform and begins discussions on nominees for the office of 
Prime Minister. The Chairman of the Tri-Presidency  formally 
nominates the Prime Minister-designate, and forwards the 
nomination to the House of Representatives for approval.  If 
the House of Representatives does not approve the nomination 
by a simple majority (including a qualified majority 
representing at least one third of the delegates from both 
entities), the President must nominate another candidate. 
The President has three opportunities to nominate a Prime 
Minister.  If the House of Representatives votes down all 
three candidates, new elections must be called. 
 
¶6.  (U) The process is the same in the RS, where the 
President is directly elected.  In the Federation, the 
Federation House of Representatives chooses the Federation 
President and Vice President by confirming the individuals 
selected by the newly-formed governing coalition.  The 
Federation President then chooses the Federation Prime 
Minister, who also is confirmed by the Federation House of 
Representatives.  Cantonal assemblies follow similar 
procedures. 
 
 
SARAJEVO 00002305  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Selecting the Council of Ministers 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (U) Following the confirmation of the Prime 
Minister-designate by the State House of Representatives, the 
new Prime Minister, also known as the President of the 
Council of Ministers (CoM), chooses a new government.  In the 
past, governing coalitions generally have agreed in advance 
on the distribution of ministries among their parties, 
allowing this process to proceed quickly.  The Prime Minister 
often announces his ministers within seven days of his 
confirmation.  The process in the entities is the same for 
entity-level ministries. 
 
Choosing Delegates for the House of Peoples 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (U) At the state level, delegates for the State House of 
Peoples (the upper house of parliament, made up of 15 
members, five from each of the three 
constitutionally-recognized peoples) are chosen in the 
following manner:  The Republika Srpska National Assembly 
(RSNA) (the House of Representatives equivalent in the RS) 
chooses the five Serb delegates to the State House of Peoples 
by a simple majority vote.  Individual RSNA representatives 
nominate candidates.  In the Federation, cantonal assemblies 
choose delegates to the Federation House of Peoples, which in 
turn chooses the Bosniak and Croat delegates to the State 
House of Peoples.  The two-step procedure in the Federation 
has the potential to cause some delays in the process for 
choosing State House of Peoples delegates, especially if 
governing coalitions are different at the cantonal and entity 
levels. 
 
Timeline for Government Formation 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (U) After the legislatures at the state, entity and 
cantonal levels convene, they will begin work on forming 
government coalitions at all levels.  In past elections, this 
process has begun much sooner, with party leaders discussing 
post-election coalitions well in advance of the elections. 
Generally speaking, the government formation process can last 
from several weeks to several months, depending on the nature 
of coalition deliberations.  Coalition agreements at the 
state level often are linked directly with agreements at the 
entity and cantonal levels.  There is no statutory time limit 
on the formation of governing coalitions at any level of 
government.  During the period between the elections and the 
establishment of the new CoM, the incumbent CoM continues to 
perform the day-to-day activities of government via a 
technical mandate.  Parliament is dissolved after national 
elections and, as a result, there are no "lame duck" 
parliamentary sessions. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) If, as expected, new election rules requiring that 
parties cross a three percent threshold to enter parliament 
limit the number of small party representatives elected to 
all legislatures, government formation could be streamlined. 
Under this scenario, a state government could be formed as 
early as mid-December.  A more conservative timeline would 
place a new government in office soon after the new year and 
Serb Orthodox January holidays.  Possible complicating 
factors may include the election of a Tri-Presidency member 
from a party outside the governing coalition that wins few 
legislative seats and refuses to nominate the coalition's 
first choice for Prime Minister.  Differing coalitions at the 
state and lower levels of government could also extend the 
negotiating process.  End Comment. 
MCELHANEY