Members of the opposition parties in the parliament are not ready to support the proposal of the Prosecutor's Council that special prosecutor Lidija Vukčević be the new supreme state prosecutor.
The election of the supreme prosecutor in the parliament requires the support of 54 deputies, that is, in the second round of voting, 49 deputies, because the Constitution prescribes a two-thirds, that is, a three-fifths majority.
The Supreme State Prosecutor has a high position in the system of government, along with the legislative and executive powers, he has the greatest powers, but also independence in decision-making.
The consultative hearing of the candidate for VDT, the president of the Committee for Political System, Judiciary and Administration Marta Šćepanović (DPS) scheduled for January 30. According to the procedure, if Vukčević receives the consent of the board, the proposal goes to the plenum, where, under the point of elections and appointments, the deputies declare themselves.
The ruling coalition has 41 deputies, and so far none of the opposition clubs has expressed their willingness to vote for Lidija Vukčević, the "right hand" of the chief special prosecutor. In the proposal to the parliament, TS listed the cases in which Vukčević is or was acting, including two for war crimes.
The ruling Bosniak party is cautious:
"We expect a responsible attitude from our colleagues in the parliament to reach a two-thirds majority in the first round through reasoned discussion, and even a three-fifths majority if necessary in the second round, in order to get a quality solution for VDT. No less important is what kind of program candidate Lidija Vukčević will offer. As well as its relationship to the strategy of research on war crimes. Especially if we bear in mind that she acted in war crimes cases", said BS MP Ervin Ibrahimović to "Vijesta".
He reminds that the members of the BS have repeatedly expressed their dissatisfaction with the implementation of the Strategy for the Investigation of War Crimes, which was adopted in 2015.
"We emphasize that the achieved results were unacceptably bad, which was the reason why the BS MPs did not support the annual reports of the Prosecutor's Office. We are aware that war crimes do not expire, but we are also aware that the victims and families of the victims deserve justice," said Ibrahimović.
The BS expects that the new VDT will show empathy towards innocent victims, respect the recommendations of relevant international addresses, put war crimes investigation processes at the top of the agenda and achieve the expected results through more proactive and professional work.
The group of representatives of minority nations, which includes the BS, the coalition "Albanians resolutely" and the Croatian Citizens' Initiative, does not yet have a final position:
"We haven't had a Club meeting yet, due to numerous other obligations, so we haven't considered that issue yet," Adrian Vuksanović, president of that parliamentary club, told "Vijesta".
DPS did not comment on TS's proposal yesterday. The Social Democratic Party was not officially ready to comment on it, but unofficially they state that their votes cannot be counted on.
The president of the Parliamentary Club of the Democratic Front, Milutin Đukanović, told "Vijesti" that the opposition alliance will not support the election of Vukčević.
"Of course we will not support the election of Lidija Vukčević. The proposal is frivolous and rude and does not deserve a more serious comment," said Đukanović.
Several DF officials have been charged or are under investigation by the Special Prosecutor's Office, which they claim are politically motivated. Lidija Vukčević acts in some of them.
Demos MP Miodrag Lekić recalled in a statement to "Vijesta" that during the prime minister's hour he suggested to Prime Minister Duško Marković that the year end with a consensus:
"With the adoption of election laws, the election of the judicial and prosecutor's council, the VDT, the formation of a temporary, technical government... "The head of government responded, deputies from the trade coalition accepted, that the congress of the ruling party should continue in the Assembly by adopting the Law on Freedom of Religion. "All this within 10 days of the completion of the work of the Legislative Reform Committee and 10 months after the parliamentary elections. Knowing full well, and obviously wanting, that this would stop all democratic scenarios in the country, supported by the EU, by the way," said Lekić, who believes that now "everyone should take responsibility for their actions".
Even SNP MPs Danijela Pavićević and Srđan Milić, who are in the same club as Lekić, do not have a positive view of the TS candidate.
They are stalling, waiting for Stanković to extend Katnić's mandate
Independent MP Aleksandar Damjanović tells "Vijesti" that by delaying the process of nominating a candidate for the VDT, the Prosecutor's Council, in agreement with part of the ruling majority, deliberately prolonged the current state of affairs, because it is almost certain that due to the break in the session, the Parliament will not be able to express its opinion on the proposed to the candidate before March.
"Taking into account the relationship of political forces in the Assembly and the absence of the desire of the parliamentary majority for a dialogue on solving the growing problems in the judiciary and the prosecution, it is expected that the proposed candidate will not receive the necessary two-thirds support at the plenum, of course, after the farce called ' consultative hearing' in the one-party and illegitimate Committee for Political System, Judiciary and Administration. After that, the plenum declares about all the proposed candidates, which means that the election procedure can de facto last until May or June of the current year," said Damjanović.
He believes that the delay in the procedure is not accidental and is the result of an "angry behind-the-scenes fight within the government", where everything seems to push the mandate of the current acting VDT at least until May, when he should nominate the current special prosecutor Milivoj Katnić for a new mandate, while part of the government, which is personified by the Minister of Justice, makes frantic efforts, both formal and informal, to prevent that scenario from happening.
According to him, it will soon be clear whether the quick changes to the law, which are in the parliamentary procedure, "will lead to a new 'majority' in the Prosecutor's Council, before May", as well as whether the Government has the essential support of the parliamentary majority. DPS and satellites, or that majority is controlled from the "building of the first neighbor of the Assembly building".
Root changes in the law, so that other lawyers are also part of the team
"The prosecutor's office as an independent body must undergo fundamental changes, i.e. reform. Quality changes are needed to the Law on the Organization of Prosecutors, which will define penal provisions for misconduct, unscrupulous work of prosecutors, omissions in work... The law must rely on the comparative practice of other European countries where this is already regulated. Only then can we talk about the election of a prosecutor, where other complete lawyers could also apply," said the head of the SNP/Demos club, Danijela Pavićević.
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