US and EU mediators in negotiations on changes to Bosnia and Herzegovina's electoral law called on BiH politicians on Wednesday to reach an agreement as soon as possible and achieve a compromise on electoral reform, saying that time is running out as the next election is due in October.

The United States special envoy for the BiH electoral reform, Matthew Palmer, and a managing director at the European External Action Service, Angelina Eichhorst, began a new round of negotiations in Sarajevo with representatives of BiH’s authorities and political parties aimed at reaching agreement on electoral law and constitutional changes.

Their first meeting was with members of the state parliament, including Croat leader Dragan Čović and Bosniak leader Bakir Izetbegović.

Speaking to the press afterwards, Čović said he was grateful to the US and the EU for investing additional effort so that a final agreement could be reached.

“The goal is to ensure legitimate representation for the constituent peoples, but also to implement restricted constitutional changes and ensure the integrity of the election process,” he added.

According to Eichhorst, the EU and the US resolutely support BiH’s territorial integrity and sovereignty as a single state and want the problems in the country to be resolved as soon as possible, including removing the blockade of the central authorities by Serb entity officials.

The current political crisis is unacceptable for all people in BiH, it should be unacceptable for the BiH parliament, and it’s totally unacceptable for the EU, she said.

The EU calls for an immediate and unconditional end to the blockade of the state authorities, and it expects prompt agreement on electoral reform because the time for agreeing is running out, Eichhorst added.

We have still not reached that agreement, and we are here to support talks that would lead to changes to the electoral law and the constitution in order to eliminate discriminatory stipulations, advance technical solutions and prevent electoral fraud, she said.

That would be a new step on BiH’s journey to EU membership, Eichhorst added.

Palmer said electoral reform was key for the establishment of strong and efficient authorities. He hopes a final agreement that would ensure the integrity of the election process can be reached in the days ahead. That means that each voice is heard and counted and that anyone can run for office, he said.

There is very little time left to reach an agreement, he said, adding that it’s extremely important for the election to be held in the autumn and that the electoral system must be changed five months before the vote.

Palmer and Eichhorst are staying in BiH until the end of the week. The final closed-door round of negotiations with political party leaders is scheduled for this weekend in Neum.

BiH is due to hold a general election in October. The Central Electoral Commission is expected to call it in early May at the latest, by which time the BiH parliament is expected to adopt all changes to the electoral law and the constitution.