DAKIĆ SUBMITS FOUR REQUESTS TO OSCE

VIENNA, OCTOBER 22 /SRNA/ - Dragan Dakić, adviser to the Speaker of the Republika Srpska National Assembly on international law, called on the OSCE to assess the electoral consequences of all significant interventions, including those originating from international authorities, pointing out the suspension of public funding for the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats /SNSD/ and the United Srpska party.

Speaking at an OSCE Human Dimension session, Dakić also called for a substantive assessment of the suspension of public funding for SNSD and United Srpska. His third request was for clear and narrowly defined rules to be recommended to protect political expression, and the fourth was to support a credible path toward full domestic democratic accountability. "This requires the responsible adoption of election laws by domestic authorities, capable and independent electoral institutions, effective legal remedies, and transparent coordination between the OSCE Mission and ODIHR when concerns cross institutional boundaries," Dakić said in his address to a discussion organized by the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the OSCE. He asked how elections conducted by domestic institutions should be assessed when key rules and the conditions of political competition continue to depend on decisions made by an external authority, the Republika Srpska National Assembly said in a statement. Dakić outlined three interconnected issues: election legislation imposed externally in BiH, the suspension of public funding for certain political parties - SNSD and United Srpska - and restrictions on political expression in BiH. As he explained, the first issue concerns Christian Schmidt's intervention in election legislation. He pointed out that the decision of March 26, 2024, imposed extensive amendments to the Election Law of BiH, including provisions on pilot projects involving electoral technologies. "The second issue concerns the suspension of public funding for SNSD and United Srpska. The decision of April 24, 2025, suspended payments of budget funds allocated to these parties," Dakić said. As he recalled, the Office of the High Representative /OHR/ presents this measure as a response to conduct it considers a threat to the Dayton Peace Agreement and the constitutional order. However, he continued, this stated purpose does not eliminate the need to examine the measure's effects on political competition and whether it constitutes prohibited discrimination. He identified political expression in BiH as the third issue. He stressed that preliminary findings point to concerns about broad restrictions on early campaigning and their application to ordinary political communication, including unpaid social media posts. "Political debate is ongoing. When the line between ordinary political expression and punishable campaigning becomes unpredictable, political actors may avoid lawful speech. The resulting chilling effect also affects voters, who receive fewer arguments and less information," Dakić said. In this context, Dakić added, criticism of election technology deserves particular attention. Namely, false claims and legitimate questions about security, procurement, testing and transparency must be carefully distinguished. More than 50 participants attended the OSCE discussion, including Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Dmitry Yevgenyevich Lyubinsky, Chairperson of the OSCE Permanent Council Rafael Nageli, Belarusian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Sakreta, and many others.