Republika Srpska Constitutional Court Allows Bosniak Objections to New Government Reps

The Constitutional Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Serb-dominated entity, Republika Srpska, on 19 January issued a ruling that will allow the hearing of a complaint filed by the entity’s Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) in the upper house of parliament against the formation of the new RS government.

The Bosniak caucus on 5 January vetoed the decision to appoint the new RS government, saying that it lacked true Bosniak representation.

The new cabinet of Prime Minister Aleksandar Dzombic does not contain an acceptable Bosniak representative to any of the six key posts and represents a violation of the rights of all of the entity’s constituent peoples, the group said.

There are eight Serbs, five Bosniaks and three Croats in Dzombic’s cabinet, but the Bosniak parliamentary group claims that those five Bosniaks cannot be considered legitimate representatives of the Bosniak people because of the way in which they were appointed. Those ‘Bosniaks’ appointed to the new cabinet are loyal to RS President Milorad Dodik and his ruling Alliance of Independent Social-democrats (SNSD). The Bosniak caucus was hoping to secure the post of Council of Peoples speaker, but their candidate was rejected by Serb deputies. Instead, the post was given to Igor Radojicic, a close associate of Dodik and an SNSD member who declares himself a Montenegrin and therefore a minority representative.

The RS Constitutional Court ruled that the Bosniak concerns were legally valid and would therefore undergo review by the court on 31 January.

Source: isaintel.com

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