News

Bosniaks Veto Bosnian Serb Courts Referendum

Jul 23 2015
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Source: 
Balkan Insight

Bosniak delegates to the Council of Peoples in the Republika Srpska assembly on Thursday used their veto powers to block the assembly's decision last week to hold a referendum on the authority of the state judicial institutions and the Office of the High Representative.

Mujo Hadziomerovic, chief of the Bosniak caucus in the Council of Peoples, said they had evoked a constitutional safeguard, concerning "protection of their vital national interest", since Bosniaks believe the referendum would violate Bosnia's constitutions and the 1995 Dayton Peace Accord taht ended the war.

Bosnian Serbs to Hold Referendum on State Courts

Jul 16 2015
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Source: 
Balkan Insight

The assembly of Bosnia’s Serb-dominated entity, Republika Srpska, has voted on Wednesday to hold a referendum on confidence in the country's state justice system and in the authority of High Representative to Bosnia.

Out of 76 deputies present, 45 voted in favor while 31 abstained. The referendum will be held in mid-September. 

Rival Bosnian Serb Blocs Battle Over Referendum

Jul 08 2015
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Source: 
Balkan Insight

The assembly of Bosnia’s Serb-dominated entity, Republika Srpska, will hold a special session next week to vote on holding a referendum challenging the authority of Bosnia’s High Representative and the state judicial institutions.

The session was requested by the Republika Srpska President, Milorad Dodik, who is launching the initiative for the second time in four years.

International officials, local experts as well as Bosnian Serb opposition parties have condemned the plan.

Decision on referendum next week

Jul 07 2015
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Source: 
Independent Balkan News Agency

Awaiting news from New York, where UN Security Council discusses about the British draft of Resolution on Srebrenica, RS political parties representatives met to decide when they will hold the special session of RS National Assembly to consider the reactivation of the earlier call on referendum about citizens’ trust in BiH state Court and Prosecution office work.

Parties Start New Coalition Talks in Bosnia's Federation

Jun 18 2015
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Source: 
Balkan Insight

Leaders of the main Bosniak and Croat parties in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Party of Democratic Action, SDA, and the Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, have started talks with parties on forming a new ruling coalition. 

Some Western diplomats have expressed concerns that the new coalition, possibly including a larger number of smaller parties, could be even more difficult to manage than the last government.  

Bosnian Serb Leaders Reject EU Reform Plan

Jun 11 2015
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Source: 
Balkan Insight

EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn cancelled his visit to the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo after leaders of Bosnia’s Serb-dominated entity of Republika Srpska refused to sign the action plan on reforms aimed to unblock EU integration and secure new funding from international financial institutions.

According to the plan, the country's two entities and state government were due to sign the reform agenda at a meeting with Hahn at a roundtable in Sarajevo on Thursday.

Bosnia Federation Adopts Reform Plan Amidst Crisis

Jun 10 2015
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Source: 
Balkan Insight

Bosnia's Federation entity on Tuesday adopted a reform plan crucial for the country’s EU ambitions and discussed its 2015-2018 action plan.

However, concrete action on any of the measures is threatened by the deepening political crisis in one of the country's two entities.

“The [reform] agenda is still not public, because it is not signed. This is the first government in Bosnia and Herzegovina that has adopted it,” Federation entity Prime Minister Fadil Novalic said after a government session.

Bosnia Federation Entity Coalition Falls Apart

Jun 05 2015
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Source: 
Balkan Insight

The Democratic Front, DF, has quit the ruling coalition in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, after the government – against the votes of DF ministers – changed the rules on the appointments of new managers for public companies.

The break-up of the ruling coalition has been dragging on for months, marked by personal rows, conflicting statements and short-lived compromises.

Bosnian Muslim Party Elects New-Old Chief

May 27 2015
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Source: 
Balkan Insight

A congress of the Party of Democratic Action, SDA, on Tuesday elected a new leadership for the new four years, electing Bakir Izetbegovic as president while choosing a deputy president, eight vice-presidents and a new main board.

“I am honoured by these results,” Izetbegovic told the congress after his overwhelming victory. He stressed the importance of reconciliation across Balkan countries, but also among different Bosniak factions within the SDA itself.

High ranked official left the SDS

May 25 2015
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Source: 
Independent Balkan News Agency

The political scene in BiH was shaken Monday as Nenad Stevandic, one of highest officials in Serb Democratic Party (SDS), announced that he is not a member of this party any more.

At the press conference in Banja Luka, Stevandic explained why he decided to leave the biggest opposition party in Republic of Srpska, which is also part of the ruling coalition on the BiH level.

Bosnia's Ruling Parties Paper Over Coalition Cracks

May 19 2015
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Source: 
Balkan Insight

Bakir Izetbegovic of the Party of Democratic Action, SDA, and Zeljko Komsic of the Democratic Front, DF, on Tuesday said the crisis in the government of Bosnia's mainly Bosniak and Croat Federation entity had been resolved.

The two politicians said that problems over opposing views among coalition partners on the replacement of managers in key public companies had been overcome.

Their separate statements indicated different positions on the issue, however.

Bosnian Serb Coalition May Lose its Majority

May 19 2015
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Source: 
Balkan Insight

The European Integration and Regional Cooperation Board of the assembly in Republika Srpska - Bosnia's mainly Serbian entity - rejected two draft laws on Monday that the assembly was due to debate on Tuesday.

Trade unions and NGOs claimed the two draft laws on public gatherings and non-proft organisations aimed to further increase political control in the entity.

Party Battles Threaten Bosnia Federation Govt

May 15 2015
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Source: 
Balkan Insight

The coalition government of Bosnia’s Federation entity was on the brink of collapse on Friday as the main players battled over control over lucrative public companies.

“Collapse in the government of BiH Federation,” the Sarajevo daily Dnevni Avaz reported on Friday, referring to the decision of the ministers from the Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, to walk out of an entity government session in a dispute about the control of public companies.

Main Bosnian Serb Opposition Party Re-Elects Leader

May 11 2015
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Source: 
Balkan Insight

The Serb Democratic Party, SDS, chose Bosic to lead the party for another four years at its party congress on Sunday in Banja Luka. 

“We have to show that we have courage and that we can start the fight against corruption and crime which was carried out under the auspices of the political leadership of the current government in the [Serb-dominated entity of] Republika Srpska,” Bosic said in his address to the SDS congress.

“Changes are necessary and we will try to get even stronger through the selection of the new leadership,” he added.

Bosnian Serb Mass Arrests Alarm Bosniaks

May 08 2015
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Source: 
Balkan Insight

Police in Bosnia’s Serb-dominated entity, Republika Srpska, RS, have arrested 30 persons suspected of involvement in Islamist radical activity and of posing a possible security threat, RS police confirmed on Thursday.

The mass arrest, carried out exclusively by Bosnian Serb police and without the usual coordination with state and other security agencies, has raised concerns among Bosniaks in the country.

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