Croatia’s far-right revives push for separate Croat electoral unit in Bosnia and Herzegovina, prompting regional alarm

A Croatian radical-right party has reignited controversy over the political status of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina with a resolution that advocates creation of a separate electoral unit and expanded autonomy for the Croat community. Domovinski pokret, a coalition partner of Croatia’s ruling HDZ, published on June 17 a document titled "o poboljšanju političkog položaja Hrvata u BiH" that sets out a series of measures it says are needed to ensure "legitimno političko predstavljanje Hrvata" in BiH and to prevent "drugi narodi odlučuju o članu Predsjedništva BiH iz reda hrvatskog naroda." The party said the resolution would be put before the Croatian parliament (Sabor).

The proposed resolution calls for reform of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s electoral system, including the establishment of a special electoral constituency to elect Croat representatives. It also endorses greater political, cultural, linguistic and territorial autonomy for Croats in BiH, continued financial and political support from Zagreb for Croat institutions in BiH, and the use of all available EU mechanisms — "uključujući mogućnost veta" — to protect Croat interests. The text condemns what its authors describe as the "preglasavanjem" of Croats in elections and proposes sanctions against political actors they view as contributing to that practice.

The document contains a controversial historical reference: it offers a positive appraisal of the wartime Herceg-Bosna entity, saying it played a role "u očuvanju položaja Hrvata u BiH i stvaranju uslova za Dejtonski mirovni sporazum." Herceg-Bosna was formally dissolved by the Washington and Dayton agreements in 1994, and political and military leaders from that entity were later convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for war crimes and participation in a joint criminal enterprise.

Domovinski pokret representatives told journalists they had discussed the resolution’s wording with Croatia’s HDZ and characterized the proposal as "prvi korak uspostave zasebne izborne jedinice u Federaciji BiH." They said further consultations with HDZ were planned to reach a version "provediv, utemeljen na međunarodnim sporazumima i u najboljem interesu hrvatskog naroda u BiH," and framed the initiative as contributing to a "jedinstvene, stabilne, funkcionalne BiH kao buduće članice Europske unije."

The resolution has elicited swift pushback from Sarajevo. Bosnia’s foreign minister Elmedin Konaković said the proposal constitutes "grubo zadiranje u nadležnosti i suverenitet BiH" and warned against caving to pressure from "radikala i populista." Albin Muslić, an SDP lawmaker, described the initiative as "potpuno neprihvatljivim uplitanjem u unutrašnja pitanja BiH" that risks deepening divisions. Representatives of HDZ BiH and other Croat-aligned actors in Bosnia have long pressed for electoral changes they argue would ensure "legitimno predstavljanje" of Croats, pointing specifically to the disputed election of Željko Komšić as the Croat member of the tripartite Presidency, which they say reflects votes cast mainly in Bosniak-majority areas.

The initiative also unsettles some in Zagreb. Although HDZ ministers and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković have not formally endorsed the Domovinski pokret text, Croatia’s foreign minister Gordan Grlić Radman told reporters that Zagreb "Podržavamo svaki napor koji ide prema jednakopravnosti Hrvata. Važno nam je da su inicijative koje dolaze od Hrvata u BiH autentične, mi podržavamo njihove stavove." Still, Plenković has described such proposals as efforts aimed at "political visibility" rather than concrete policy.

The push for a separate Croat electoral unit comes at a sensitive moment: on June 17 the European Parliament adopted an annual resolution stressing the need to preserve Bosnia and Herzegovina’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and constitutional order and to reject policies that deepen ethnic divisions. That stance is at odds with Domovinski pokret’s emphasis on strengthening ethnic-based representation within an already complex Dayton framework.

Analysts and politicians point to deeper structural obstacles to reform. Political scientist Žarko Puhovski said the Domovinski pokret initiative is primarily an effort to amplify its profile on the Croatian right and will have limited practical impact unless adopted by HDZ. Others note that key judgments of the European Court of Human Rights established that Bosnia’s constitutional and electoral arrangements entail discrimination that must be remedied; implementing those rulings requires constitutional changes that demand a two-thirds majority in the parliamentary chamber and broad political consensus — a threshold that has repeatedly thwarted previous reform efforts.

If the Domovinski pokret resolution is finalised and sent to the Croatian Sabor, it will need support from HDZ coalition partners to advance. Observers warn that even if passed in Zagreb, such initiatives risk inflaming ethnic tensions in Bosnia and Herzegovina and complicating international efforts to promote institutional reform that both protects minority rights and upholds the country’s territorial integrity.