[JURIST] The constitutional reform process in Bosnia and Herzegovina [official website] appears in disarray after the lower house of the Bosnian parliament [official website] voted earlier this week to reject a set of proposals backed by the US and the European Union and initially agreed to [JURIST report] by Bosnia's eight political parties that would have seen certain governmental functions shift from the country's two constituent republics to the central government. The package failed when it only garnered the endorsement of 26 of the 42 lawmakers, two votes short of the 28 necessary for passage. Critics argued that the proposals would actually reinforce the political divisions of the country and would inappropriately maintain a voting system structured along traditional national lines.

EU and US representatives criticized the vote against the new measures, with the European representative stressing their importance for the chances of Bosnia-Herzegovina joining the Union, and the US ambassador saying that he did not see "any other alternative" to the approved options [US Embassy Sarajevo press statement] already on the table. EUobserver has more. AKI has additional coverage.