Bosnia crise

RS president: Early elections unacceptable

Source: Tanjug

BANJA LUKA -- RS President Milorad Dodik has said that protests in the Federation entity of Bosnia are politically motivated and that early elections are unacceptable.

(Tanjug, file)

"Political forces from the Federation are seeking an escalation of unrest in all of Bosnia-Herzegovina, the situation in the RS is stable and peaceful and the problems and vandalism in the Federation is not a reason for early elections throughout the country," Dodik told the daily Glas Srpske.
The post-war Bosnia-Herzegovina consists of two entities - the Muslim-Croat Federation (FBiH), that last week saw violent protests, and the Serb Republic (RS), where there have been no demonstrations.

"Since the beginning of these events there has been an attempt to impose a story that something is supposedly problematic in Bosnia-Herzegovina, from the point of view of what is happening in the Federation, while they persistently avoid saying that the problem is in several federal cantons where the governments were brought down, and that it needs to be solved there. The authorities on the level of all of Bosnia-Herzegovina, as far as I can see, are functioning," Dodik said in response to requests from the Federation to hold early elections in the whole country.

"That is an unacceptable proposal," he said.

Dodik pointed out that "in this atmosphere of accumulated problems in the Federation, the RS is stable and calm, and understands what is happening."

"The RS is aware that there are problems, but these problems are not reason for early elections. We should go to regular elections and finish the story," Dodik said, recalling that voting is scheduled to take place in October and that by that time, "a democratic atmosphere should be prepared, instead of an emergency situation."

On Monday, the government of the Federation entity urged all political actors to adopt legislative changes and a decision on holding early elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina, while a proposal to change laws should be forwarded to the Bosnian Parliament for approval on an expedited basis today.

"If the changes cannot be adopted in the short term, the High Representative Valentin Inzko needs to impose them," Federation Prime Minister Nermin Nikšić said after he talked with demonstrators in Sarajevo.

This view was taken on Sunday by the leadership of the Bosniak SDP party. That early elections would be good for Bosnia is also a stance held by the Bosniak Party of Democratic Action and member of the Presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina from the ranks of that people, Bakir Izetbegović.