Vol. 472 No. 2
99 Mr. R. Burke asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the Government's and the EU's response to the unanimous vote of the OSCE committee for the election mission in Bosnia to postpone further the local elections planned for late November 1996 and the progress, if any, of the OSCE election mission in Bosnia to date. [22847/96]
On 22 October the chairman of the Provisional Election Commission which was established by the OSCE, Ambassador Robert Frowick, announced that the Commission had taken a unanimous decision to postpose the municipal elections previously scheduled to take place on 23-24 November. The decision was taken because of continuing political problems in municipalities across Bosnia and Hercegovina and because the parties had indicated that they needed additional time to prepare for the elections.
The Mission will concentrate on continuing to provide assistance for the preparation and conduct of municipal elections which are now to take place in 1997. As Presidency, Ireland has stated that the European Union expects that these elections will take place throughout Bosnia and Hercegovina under OSCE supervision, and calls upon the parties to agree to this without delay; considers that problems which arose during the September elections, for example in drawing up voters' lists and in refugee voting, must be addressed in the context of preparations for the municipal elections, and stresses that the primary responsibility to ensure free and fair elections rests with the parties themselves.
