Bosnia's Serb Statelet to Hold Referendum on Verdict Against Leader
The Republika Srpska will stage a referendum on October 25, following a political crisis surrounding President Milorad Dodik.
SARAJEVO: Bosnia's Serb statelet, Republika Srpska (RS), has decided to hold a referendum on October 25 regarding the federal court verdict against its President Milorad Dodik.
The regional parliament voted in favor of the referendum late Friday, amid a political crisis that intensified with the resignation of the prime minister earlier this week.Dodik, who has been president since 2006, was convicted by a Bosnian federal court in February for undermining the country's fragile functioning by disregarding decisions from an international envoy.
He paid a €19,000 fine to avoid a one-year prison sentence, but an appeals court ruled that he should be removed from office and banned from politics for six years.The referendum question to be posed on the October ballot is: 'Do you accept the decisions of the unelected foreigner (international envoy Christian Schmidt) and the unconstitutional verdict of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Court against the President of the RS, as well as the decision of the Bosnian Electoral Commission to revoke the mandate of the President of the RS, Milorad Dodik?'Out of 65 lawmakers present in the parliament, 50 voted in favor of the referendum.
Opposition members abstained from voting.Dodik has stated that he expects the Serbian population to reject the referendum question overwhelmingly.
He has also threatened to hold a later referendum on independence for the Republika Srpska.
The RS parliament adopted several conclusions rejecting Schmidt's authority, demanding Dodik's continuation as president, and opposing elections to choose his successor.The federal ban on Dodik holding office will likely lead to early elections for the RS presidency within 90 days.
The outgoing prime minister did not disclose reasons behind his resignation but stated that he leaves a stable Republika Srpska to his successor.Both Dodik and the outgoing prime minister have been sanctioned by the United States for threatening the Dayton Peace Agreement and undermining Bosnia's sovereignty.
Since the end of the 1990s war, Bosnia has been divided into Serbian and Bosnian-Croat political units, held together by weak central institutions.
The regional parliament voted in favor of the referendum late Friday, amid a political crisis that intensified with the resignation of the prime minister earlier this week.Dodik, who has been president since 2006, was convicted by a Bosnian federal court in February for undermining the country's fragile functioning by disregarding decisions from an international envoy.
He paid a €19,000 fine to avoid a one-year prison sentence, but an appeals court ruled that he should be removed from office and banned from politics for six years.The referendum question to be posed on the October ballot is: 'Do you accept the decisions of the unelected foreigner (international envoy Christian Schmidt) and the unconstitutional verdict of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Court against the President of the RS, as well as the decision of the Bosnian Electoral Commission to revoke the mandate of the President of the RS, Milorad Dodik?'Out of 65 lawmakers present in the parliament, 50 voted in favor of the referendum.
Opposition members abstained from voting.Dodik has stated that he expects the Serbian population to reject the referendum question overwhelmingly.
He has also threatened to hold a later referendum on independence for the Republika Srpska.
The RS parliament adopted several conclusions rejecting Schmidt's authority, demanding Dodik's continuation as president, and opposing elections to choose his successor.The federal ban on Dodik holding office will likely lead to early elections for the RS presidency within 90 days.
The outgoing prime minister did not disclose reasons behind his resignation but stated that he leaves a stable Republika Srpska to his successor.Both Dodik and the outgoing prime minister have been sanctioned by the United States for threatening the Dayton Peace Agreement and undermining Bosnia's sovereignty.
Since the end of the 1990s war, Bosnia has been divided into Serbian and Bosnian-Croat political units, held together by weak central institutions.
