On 23 and 24 July 2020, the Congress organised online bilateral meetings to present the project “Building democratic participation in the City of Mostar” to the stakeholders from the City of Mostar.

The aim of the meetings was to provide the Mayor of Mostar and representatives of local political parties with further information on the project, to discuss the process and European experiences in citizen deliberations and to identify potential for co-operation. In this way, the Congress aims to establish a quality network of partners who would jointly contribute to the revitalisation of the dialogue and democratic processes in the City of Mostar.

Stewart Dickson (ILDG, United Kingdom), Congress Spokesperson for the Observation of Local and Regional Elections welcomed the recent decision of the Central Electoral Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina to hold the elections in Mostar by the end of 2020. “The deliberative process is about empowering citizens to engage with local politicians, participate in local life, and share their viewpoints and needs, before and after the local elections are held”, he stressed. “The process in Mostar will build on the existing experience of citizen participation and engagement of civil society. It will be complementary to other ongoing democratic processes in the city”, he added.

Meetings were attended by representatives of Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Party of Democratic Action (SDA), Social Democratic Party (SDP), Democratic Front, Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), Our Party and Platform for Progress.

These meetings are organised in the framework of the project “Building democratic participation in the City of Mostar” implemented by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities within the Council of Europe Action Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina 2018-2021. The project aims to create opportunities for citizens to engage in deliberative processes and participate in local decision making, and thereby build trust in public authorities.