Republika Srpska elects an unconstitutional government

Minic, so far the minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Waters, comes from the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats of Dodik.

The new government has no constitutional basis, as the mandate for Minicinna on August 23rd handed to Milorad Dodik, who five days ago, with a decision on the clear form of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Court and later took the mandate of Republika Srpska's president.

According to the Bosnian Serb entity constitution, the president of this entity proposes for the Popular Assembly the candidate for prime minister.

After the Bosnian Court ruling, RS remains without president, because neither the laws nor the Constitution of the state and entity foresee who takes this post in case of the vacuum.

RS has two vice presidents, but they can only temporarily obtain competencies if such is ordered by the president. One such case had occurred at the end of last year, when, due to a surgery that Dodik underwent, the president's duties were taken over by Davor Projq.

The new president is expected to be elected in early elections, announced for November 23rd.

Dodik in public presentations rejects the decisions of competent institutions in Bosnia and claims he is still president.

He has also warned that his party will boycott and obstruct warned elections.

The CEC lifted Dodik's mandate after the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in early August, sentenced him to a year in prison sentence, which it replaced with monetary payment dealt with, and to six years the ban on exercising public office.

After that, the CEC declared extraordinary elections for RS president.

What criminal acts are these?

Regarding developments in the RS Assembly, Nedim Ademiovic, a Constitutional Law expert, told Radio Free Europe that Dodik “is still president”.

“I think that in public legal experts have already explained that potentially there are grounds for suspicion of certain criminal acts, beginning with the prevention of implementing the decision of the Court of Bosnia and the decision on whether it was made of formal form, as well as some other criminal acts”, Ademiovic said.

He stressed that the obstacles Dodik presents are from “the failure to implement all judicial decisions taken, to obstacles leading to the creation of several further crises”.

According to the Bosnian Criminal Code, failing to implement a State Court ruling could bring a prison sentence of between six months and five years.

“Bosnja, especially RS citizens, is wasting valuable time, are constantly being attracted to common politics, speculation, manipulation, and victims are from such a situation”, Adovovic said.

Earlier, lawyer Vlado Adamovic declared to Radio Free Europe that Dodik's <x0-signs in documents, laws and decisions are no longer valid, and any attempt to issue them constitute a potential criminal offence”.

Opposition MP in the RS Assembly Nebojsa Vukanovic, shortly after granting the mandate to Miniqi, has handed over a criminal outcry to Dodik for false submission, claiming he is no longer RS president.

For this criminal offence, according to the laws, fines or imprisonments are provided for up to a year.

On August 22nd, the RS Assembly accepted the resignation of entity Prime Minister Radovan Viskoviq, and since then the executive has been with “technical mandates”.

No explanation was given for Viskovic's surprise resignation.

In the conclusions of a session, when Viskoviki's resignation was accepted, the RS Assembly invited Dodik to continue exercising the office of president, rejected extraordinary elections and urged entity institutions not to co-operate with the CEC.

The opposition warned that the move is being made into the area of criminal acts and violation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's constitutional order.

The Assembly also announced a referendum on 25 October, in which citizens are expected to decide whether to accept the decisions of the international community's high representative, Christian Schmidt, the Court and the CEC, with which Dodik was penalised.

Milorad Dodik was convicted and dismissed from office in early August, after being convicted of disrespect for his high representative's decisions, Christian Schmidt.

Through its competencies, Schmidt had abolished unconstitutional laws adopted by Republika Srpska, with which it was intended to contest the judgments of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Constitutional Court, whose ruling Dodik has filed an appeal.

During presenting the programme in the Assembly on September 2nd, Minic called the decisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Court, the Constitutional Court of Bosnia, but also the Central Election Commission and the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina illegal.

He confirmed the Republika Srpska's intention that during his mandate citizens of this entity, through a referendum, express whether they are “for imposing or for protecting RS institutions”.

His programme, as announced, will support Miniq in strengthening the economics of Republika Srpska through the reshuffle of institutions, public enterprises and state administration.

He also warned of the adoption of measures for implementing laws related to the competencies envisioned in the Dayton Agreement, as well as co-operation with the Government of Serbia in line with the outcome of the Grover Assembly.

Minic also warned, restoring relations with the United States, as well as preserving those with Russia, Hungary, China and Belarus as one of the foreign policy objectives that will be realised with the support of Bosnian Presidency member from the Serb community.

At the end of his speech, he also proposed members of the government. Among them are mainly those who were part of the cabinet and the past, with several rotations. / REL