The international community's High Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Valentin Inzko, announced on Wednesday he was suspending the existing vetting procedures for candidates for ministerial posts at all levels of government in the country.
"I have taken this decision following consultations with the PIC (Peace Implementation Council) Steering Board Ambassadors and in line with the concept of increasing local ownership of the democratic process," Inzko said in a statement.
The vetting process was introduced by the international community in 2000 to ensure that future government officials had not been indicted for war crimes or involved in corruption scandals and other wrongdoing.
Inzko said that Bosnian politicians should be aware of the responsibility entrusted to them by voters and that now they should ensure by themselves that ministerial posts were filled by people with an impeccable track record.
However, the High Representative said he would retain his authority to remove officials linked to corruption, war crimes or other activities threatening the implementation of the Dayton peace agreement.
