Excavators and rubber boots only valid in the House of Representatives: Babalj profited from Radmanović's dismissal, all others stand in the House of Peoples

By: A. Vrabac

Since the end of January this year, the story about the dismissal of SNSD cadres has been circulating. The first on that list is Nebojša Radmanović, who was dismissed from the Collegium of the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly at the session on January 23. That position was vacant for some time, and Darko Babalj (SDS) was appointed in his place on February 20, at a time when we were already extensively discussing the initiative for the opposition from RS to enter the state-level government instead of SNSD.

When the government in RS, led by Milorad Dodik, after the first-instance conviction by the BiH Court, passed a series of laws in the National Assembly of RS that undermine state institutions, the judiciary, and SIPA, the Trojka parties intensified pressure on HDZ to take a side, but Dragan Čović's party only repeats that it does not abandon its partners.

Thus, HDZ did not support any dismissals of SNSD cadres in the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, and it is superfluous to even speak about the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, given the visible synergy between Čović and Špirić and the delegates of HDZ and SNSD.

Even before the initiative to dismiss SNSD cadres, in November 2024, amendments to the articles of several Commissions in the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly were voted on, in which SNSD members were replaced by those from SDS and PDP. Delegates from HDZ 1990, ZNG, SDA, DF, SBiH, PDP, and SDS voted for this decision at the time, and given that they had both general and entity majority, the decision was adopted. Three delegates each from SNSD and HDZ voted against, while Kemal Ademović abstained. Therefore, the state coalition was still functioning at that time.

The Speaker of the House, Dragan Čović, stated at the time that this was very damaging but that they had the right to do it.

In parallel with the processes initiated by the authorities in RS, the dismissal of the ministers of finance and foreign trade and economic relations, Srđan Amidžić and Staša Košarac, was voted on in the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly on February 25, again without the votes of HDZ.

This dismissal has not yet been considered in the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, nor has the dismissal of Nikola Špirić from the Collegium of the House due to manipulation of agenda items. And when these items were supposed to be on the agenda, delegates from SNSD left the session, so Amidžić and Košarac are still in ministerial positions, as is Špirić in the Collegium.

The House of Representatives of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly dismissed the deputy ministers in the Council of Ministers of BiH from the SNSD on April 4, namely Aleksandar Goganović, Deputy Minister of Defense, Ognjen Janjić, Deputy Minister of Communications and Transport, and Marijana Mojić, Deputy Minister of Civil Affairs.

Given that Branislav Borenović (PDP) did not attend that session, the entity majority was "held" by Edin Ramić from SDA, enabling the dismissal of these cadres, and HDZ BiH was again against it.

The next regular session of the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly will be held on April 15, while there is still no announcement from the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly after the session held on April 4, when HDZ and SNSD had a plan to adopt amendments to the BiH Election Law, but such a plan was thwarted by the Bosniak Club, which left the session because the request to first conclude the 11th urgent session and resolve the demands regarding the dismissal of SNSD cadres was not respected, and only then hold the 12th urgent session.