The National Assembly of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian entity Republika Srpska elected a new Government of Republika Srpska tonight.
As reported by Rado Television of Republika Srpska (RTRS), the head of the Government is Savo Minić.
50 MPs voted for the election of the Government.
The new Government, which was elected at today's special session of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, includes four new ministers and 12 from the previous convocation.
The following ministers were elected to the Government of the Republika Srpska: Minister of Finance of the Republika Srpska - Zora Vidović, Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republika Srpska - Željko Budimir, Minister of Scientific and Technological Development and Higher Education of the Republika Srpska - Siniša Karan, Minister of Transport and Communications of the Republika Srpska - Zoran Stevanović, Minister of Energy and Mining of the Republika Srpska - Petar Đokić, Minister of Health and Social Protection of the Republika Srpska - Alen Šeranić, Minister of European Integration and International Cooperation of the Republika Srpska - Zlatan Klokić, Minister of Education and Culture of the Republika Srpska - Borivoje Golubović, Minister of Spatial Planning, Construction and Ecology of the Republika Srpska - Bojan Vipotnik, Minister of Economy and Entrepreneurship of the Republika Srpska - Vojin Mitrović, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of the Republika Srpska - Anđelka Kuzmić, Minister of Trade and Tourism of the Republika Srpska - Denis Šulić, Minister of Justice of the Republika Srpska - Goran Selak, Minister of Labor and Veterans' and Disabled Protection of the Republika Srpska - Danijel Egić, Minister of Administration and Local Self-Government of the Republika Srpska - Senka Đujić, Minister of Family, Youth and Sports of the Republika Srpska - Selma Čabrić.
After being elected, the President and members of the Government of Republika Srpska took a solemn oath before the National Assembly.
"Republika Srpska is a permanent category, it is not subject to negotiations, and without it there is no stability or any future for Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH)," said Minić, RTRS reports.
Beta Agency reports that the National Assembly of Republika Srpska elected a new government tonight, whose legality and legitimacy are being challenged by both legal experts and opposition representatives in that entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
Beta states that 50 out of 83 members of parliament voted for the election of Minić as Prime Minister, while two were against, and that 50 members of parliament then also voted for the election of members of Minić's government, while one was against.
The Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) led by Milorad Dodika, from which Minić comes, has the most members - 11 ministers. Petar Đokić's Socialist Party (SP) is next with two ministers, while Nenad Stevandić's United Srpska (US), Goran Selak's Socialist Party of Srpska (SPS), and the coalition of Darko Banjac's People's Party of Srpska (NPS) and Nenad Nešić's Democratic People's Alliance (DNS) have one each.
Dodik's party will lead the ministries of finance (Zora Vidović), interior affairs (Željko Budimir), European integration and international cooperation (Zlatan Klokić), scientific and technological development and higher education (Siniša Karan), education and culture (Borivoje Golubović), health and social protection (Alen Šeranić), economy and enterprises (Vojin Mitrović), agriculture, forestry and water management (Anđelka Kuzmić), transport and communications (Zoran Stevanović), trade and tourism (Denis Šulić), and labor and veterans' and disabled protection (Danijel Egić).
The Socialist Party has been given the Ministry of Energy and Mining (Minister Petar Đokić) and the Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports (Selma Čabrić), while United Srpska will lead the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Construction and Ecology (Bojan Vipotnik). SPS leader Goran Selak will be Minister of Justice, and Senka Đujić from the NPS will be Minister of Administration and Local Self-Government.
Siniša Karan and Željko Budimir swapped positions in the government, which did not include Nedeljko Čubrilović, leader of the Democratic Alliance (DEMOS) and former Minister of Transport and Communications, Miloš Bukejlović (Minister of Justice) and Željka Stojičić (Minister of Education and Culture).
There are no officials from Čubrilović's DEMOS in the new government. According to the media in BiH, this is a new blow for the party, which recently lost three members of parliament in the current convocation of the Republika Srpska Assembly, and now has only two.
Although Čubrilović was assured at yesterday's ruling coalition meeting that he would remain the Minister of Transport and Communications for the next year, until the general elections in BiH, he was informed late last night that he would not be part of the new government, according to Banja Luka media.
Legal experts and opposition representatives are challenging the legality and legitimacy of Minic's government, because he was proposed as prime minister-designate by Dodik, after long-serving Prime Minister Radovan Višković resigned on August 18. Dodik did not have the authority to propose a prime minister-designate, as he is no longer the president of Republika Srpska, Beta reports.
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On August 6, the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina stripped Dodik of his mandate as President of Republika Srpska, based on a final verdict by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in which he was sentenced to one year in prison and a six-year ban on holding office, for failing to implement decisions by High Representative Kristian Schmidt.
In conclusions adopted at a session held on the same day that Višković's resignation was accepted, the Republika Srpska Assembly called on Dodik to continue serving as president, rejected the snap elections called by the Central Election Commission of BiH, and ordered entity institutions not to cooperate with that body.
The opposition in Republika Srpska warned that Dodik's government was thus entering a zone of criminal acts and violations of the constitutional order of BiH.
The ruling coalition in the Republika Srpska Parliament, led by the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, has called a referendum for October 25th in which voters should decide whether they accept the decisions of Schmidt, the Court of BiH, and the Central Election Commission of BiH, which includes the final verdict against Dodik.
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Radio Free Europe: Unconstitutional Government
Radio Free Europe reports that Republika Srpska has received an unconstitutional government.
According to the media outlet, the new government has no constitutional basis, as the mandate was given to Minic on August 23 by Milorad Dodik, who five days earlier had ceased to be the president of Republika Srpska by a decision of the Court of BiH.
According to the entity Constitution, the President of Republika Srpska proposes a candidate for Prime Minister to the National Assembly.
Following the decision of the Court of BiH, the Republika Srpska is without a president, because neither the laws nor the state and entity Constitutions provide for who will take over this position in the event that it becomes vacant, according to Radio Free Europe.
Republika Srpska has two vice presidents, but they can only temporarily take over responsibilities if the president orders them to do so. Such was the case at the end of last year when, due to a surgical procedure that Dodik underwent, Davor Pranjić took over the duties of the president.
The new president is expected to be elected in early elections, scheduled for November 23rd.
In public appearances, Dodik rejects the decisions of the competent institutions in BiH, claims that he is still the president, and says that his party will boycott and obstruct the announced elections.
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In August, he was sentenced to one year in prison and a six-year ban on holding public office for disrespecting the decisions of the High Representative.
On June 12, the Court of BiH confirmed the first-instance verdict of February 26, and, as the Court announced, the verdict was sent to the parties on August 1, without the possibility of appeal.
This practically means that Dodik has not been the president of Republika Srpska since June 12. The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina stripped him of his mandate on August 18, based on a final verdict of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to Radio Free Europe.
What crimes are involved?
Nedim Ademović, an expert in constitutional law, pointed out in a statement to Radio Free Europe that the fact is that Dodik "behaves as if he is still president."
"I think that legal experts have already explained to the public that there is potentially grounds for suspicion for multiple criminal offenses, starting from obstruction of the execution of the judgment of the Court of BiH and this decision if it has become final, to some further criminal offenses," said Ademović.
He points out that Dodik's obstructions range from "non-implementation of all court decisions that are made, to obstructions that lead to causing certain further crises."
According to the Criminal Code of BiH, failure to enforce a decision of the State Court entails a prison sentence of six months to five years.
"BiH, especially the citizens of Republika Srpska, are wasting precious time, constantly getting involved in politics, speculation, manipulation, and are victims of such a situation," said Ademović.
Earlier, lawyer Vlado Adamović told Radio Free Europe that Dodik's "signatures on documents, laws and decisions are no longer valid, and any attempt to issue them represents a potential criminal offense."
Opposition MP in the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, Nebojša Vukanović, shortly after granting Minić a mandate, filed a criminal complaint against Dodik for false representation, claiming that he was no longer the president of Republika Srpska.
This criminal offense is punishable by a fine or imprisonment of one year.
How did it get to this point?
Radovan Višković, who served as Prime Minister of the Republika Srpska for just under seven years, unexpectedly resigned from that position on August 18, the same day that Dodik was stripped of his presidential mandate.
No specific reasons were given at the time for Višković to leave the prime minister's position.
On August 22, members of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska confirmed his resignation, opening the way for the formation of a new government.
However, given that Republika Srpska was already without a president who could assign a mandate to a new potential prime minister, the now de facto former government was supposed to remain in a technical mandate until the election of a new entity president, according to Radio Free Europe.
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