As he announced, Milorad Dodik gave the mandate to form the new government of Republika Srpska to Sava Minic, who currently sits in the chair of the Minister of Agriculture in the technical government.
He has 40 days to gather the necessary majority in the National Assembly, which is more or less secure with 54 deputies currently gathered around the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats.
The mandate was given the task of increasing employment and the minimum wage, and preparing laws on strategic resources. Although the details of those strategic resources have not been announced, it is clear that the lithium story could "spin" again. As for the path to the EU, there is an end to it.
"The EU can no longer be our orientation, the analyzes say that we have to stop. I am asking you, Prime Minister, to reduce all operations for any EU path. We have been living without these funds for three years now," said Dodik, who expects to fulfill all the given conditions within a year.
"A man who has enthusiasm, will and desire to get involved in solving problems and creating solutions", explained Dodik, some of the reasons why he appointed Minic as a representative.
Request or order
Although the survival of the announced government is questionable, especially due to the fact that the Central Electoral Commission took away the presidential mandate from Dodik, who cannot carry out tasks within the competence of the president, the new mandate holder is ready to fulfill the tasks set before him by Dodik. Not only him, but also the entire future government.
"Those who will not be part of that team, not in the sense that they will not do something, but that they will not be timely, I will be forced to change them", Minic is convinced, and is optimistic that he will have control over the prime minister's mandate.
"And when it comes to internal affairs and all this in the Republika Srpska, all this that the president gave me as a task, regardless of what term was used, whether it was a request or an order, it doesn't matter at all. It is important that I will come before the public as soon as possible with a time-bound and dynamic plan," said Minic.
With this move, Dodik entered into a new criminal offense, according to the opinion of the majority of lawyers. The question of granting a mandate will, they believe, also be before the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As well as the referendum called by the People's Assembly in Banja Luka for October 25, when the citizens should declare whether they are in favor of the actions of the "unelected foreigner" Christian Schmidt against Dodik.
"The Republika Srpska is entering a new crisis, and Dodik has once again shown that he hates his people and the Republic, which he devastated," said Nebojša Vukanović, from the opposition List for Justice and Order. "Without legitimacy, he appointed a new mandate, aware that the courts will challenge the Government and its legitimacy because Dodik is breaking the laws and committing a criminal offense, because he is falsely presenting himself as the president of Republika Srpska, which will have major consequences."
Deadlock until the next election
The Central Election Commission, which previously stripped Dodik of his mandate, is expected to call early elections for the president this week, the holding of which is questionable, although the opposition has announced that it will participate in them.
Without the Party of Democratic Progress, whose leader Draško Stanivuković "leans" more towards the boycott of the elections, as well as the ruling coalition gathered around the SNSD.
With the high chances that early elections will be held on the one hand, the ruling of a six-year ban on political activity due to which Dodik was deprived of his mandate on the other hand, the talk about the reconstruction of the government is a good basis to maintain the current situation until the regular elections next year in October.
Because, if early elections are held, it is unlikely that the new president, whoever he may be, will take the oath in the National Assembly.
"Hypothetically speaking, if you go to the elections, you will not win even then. Whether you participate or not. You will not get the president," Dodik hinted at what will happen if early elections are held.
At the last session of the National Assembly, where Dodik also offered the opposition to support the elections organized by the Republican Election Commission, the decision to hold the referendum on October 25 was adopted.
Citizens will declare "whether they accept the decisions of the unelected foreigner Christian Šmit and the unconstitutional verdict of the BiH Court pronounced against the President of Republika Srpska, as well as the decision of the Election Commission of BiH to revoke the mandate of the President of Republika Srpska".
Germany and Britain seek appeasement
A member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denis Bećirović, said that "the illegal acts of the National Assembly of the Republic of Srpska represent a flagrant violation of the Constitution of BiH and the Dayton Peace Agreement." He points out that Milorad Dodik's mandate was taken away and that he is now a private person, with a final judgment in his file.
"Such acts are legally void, politically destructive and deeply destabilizing. These are activities that represent a serious criminal offense. Neither the Constitution of BiH nor any valid law gives entities the right to challenge or annul the decisions of state institutions, and especially not to review final court verdicts through a referendum," says Bećirović.
The German Embassy in BiH responded to the session where the Court's verdict was rejected and the referendum was called, stressing that the verdict must be respected and that they expect the situation to de-escalate.
"Subjecting the court verdict to a public vote is contrary to the rule of law and the independence of judicial authorities," the German Embassy announced, stating that they expect the authorities of Republika Srpska "to de-escalate the situation and respect the sovereignty, territorial integrity and constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina." Apart from Germany, Great Britain reacted.
"The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an independent institution, condemned the former president of Republika Srpska, Mr. Dodik, and that judgment must be respected," said the British ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Julian Riley.
There is still no reaction from the Office of the High Representative, which imposed changes to the Criminal Code on the basis of which Dodik was convicted. Earlier, during the court proceedings, they emphasized that they would no longer interfere in decisions and that by amending the law, they gave instruments to the domestic judicial authorities to react to the elected political representatives.
