The National Assembly of Republika Srpska (NARS) has adopted an unconstitutional decision to hold a referendum in which the citizens of that entity should express their opinion on the verdict of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina against Milorad Dodik and the decision of the Central Election Commission (CIK) of BiH that stripped him of his mandate as President of the RS.
The referendum will be held, as adopted, on October 25th of this year.
The decision on the referendum is not in accordance with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which does not provide for the possibility for entities to independently call referendums on decisions of state institutions.
The referendum question, read at the session by the head of the SNSD MPs' Club, Srđan Mazalica, reads: "Do you accept the decisions of the unelected foreigner Kristijan Šmit and the unconstitutional verdict of the Court of BiH against the President of the RS, as well as the decision of the CEC to revoke the mandate of the President of the RS, Milorad Dodik?"
50 out of 65 MPs present voted in favor of the decision, while the remaining 15 MPs who attended the vote did not vote either for or against.
The RS authorities do not recognize the High Representative in BiH, Kristian Schmidt, and dispute his legitimacy, claiming that his appointment was not confirmed by the United Nations Security Council.
The ruling coalition had previously proposed that the referendum be held on October 18th or 25th, but it was only at the session itself that the referendum question was specified.
The decision on the referendum was accompanied by the adoption of amendments to the Law on Referendum and Citizens' Initiative through an urgent procedure, which should enable the RS Parliament to form special commissions for referendums.
In early August, the Court of BiH handed down a final verdict sentencing Milorad Dodik to one year in prison and a six-year ban on holding public office. The prison sentence was paid off with a cash payment, while the BiH Central Election Commission, acting on the verdict, stripped Dodik of his mandate as President of the RS.
Dodik has not officially been the president of the RS since August 18, and the BiH Central Election Commission is obliged to call early elections for the entity's president within 90 days.
Conclusions 'rejecting' Dodik's verdict also adopted
In addition to the decision on the referendum, MPs from the ruling coalition led by the SNSD also adopted a set of conclusions by which the RS Assembly "rejects" the verdict of the Court of BiH and the decision of the Central Election Commission that terminated Dodik's mandate as President of the RS.
The conclusions state that the National Assembly opposes holding early elections, that Dodik is "called upon to continue serving as President of the RS", and that all institutions in the entity are requested not to undertake activities related to calling elections.
One of the conclusions warns that "any cooperation with the BiH CEC on this issue would constitute committing the criminal offense of disrespecting decisions of RS institutions or bodies, as prescribed by the RS Criminal Code."
Also, a conclusion was adopted according to which the Collegium of the RS Assembly should prepare a draft resolution on the self-determination of the Serbian people and the Republika Srpska, although the Constitution of BiH does not provide for the right of entities to self-determination.
Opposition warns of 'anti-constitutional' actions and the danger of radicalization
During the debate, opposition MPs pointed out that the entity assembly does not have the authority to comment on court decisions.
Zagorka Grahovac, MP for the Justice and Order party, said that the Assembly "can express a political position, but not decide on court decisions."
"The entity parliament cannot suspend the execution of judgments. That belongs to the judicial branch, which is separate from the legislative and executive branches," Grahovac emphasized.
She warned that the possible adoption of conclusions on not holding early elections would mean "committing a new criminal offense - preventing the holding of elections."
Nedeljko Glamočak from the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) assessed that under the guise of defending the RS, a policy is being pursued that threatens both institutions and citizens.
"Time will show that all of this is an introduction to the election campaign. But this strategy is very risky for Republika Srpska. We cannot go against the entire world," said Glamočak.
He said that the SDS "will not follow the ruling coalition in its adventures," and called for unity around the RS, not around individuals and their verdicts.
Ramiz Salkić, an independent MP in the RS Parliament, pointed out that the debate on the Dodik verdict is entering a new phase of violating the Constitution of BiH.
"Imagine that each local parliament decides whether or not to recognize a verdict. This leads to a spiral of criminal acts. The verdict is final and early elections are held," said Salkić.
He called on the Assembly to adopt a conclusion requiring the CEC to set a date for the RS presidential election as soon as possible.
Višković's resignation and the technical mandate of the Government
At the same session, MPs accepted the resignation of Radovan Višković as Prime Minister of the RS, making the entity government a technical one.
According to the planned procedures, the President of the RS is the one who should propose a candidate for the new entity Prime Minister within the next ten days.
Since Dodik's mandate was revoked, and the Constitution of BiH, as well as the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, do not define who will perform the function of the President of the Republic of Serbia in the event of his removal, there is currently no one to propose a new Prime Minister.
However, Dodik continues to present himself as the President of the RS, and this is how Nenad Stevandić, the Speaker of the entity parliament, introduced him during the session on Tuesday.
This allowed Dodik, who had his powers taken away, to address MPs in his capacity as entity president, although formally he is no longer in office.
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