Bandić on events in the KS Assembly: Arrogance over law and citizens

(Patria) - Violence against the law and the political arrogance of the Trojka parties culminated at today's 23rd session of the Sarajevo Canton Assembly. These populist scourges of modern parliamentarism have long been a characteristic of the political activities and working methods of the Trojka parties in KS, and this is particularly evident in the work of the leadership of the Sarajevo Canton Assembly, led by KS Assembly Speaker Elvedin Okerić, announced Muamer Bandić, a representative of SBiH in the KS Assembly.

Gross violation of the Constitution, laws, and Trojka anarchy also marked today's KS Assembly session, as a quorum necessary for work was lost immediately after the agenda was adopted. The agenda for today included as many as four laws, only one of which was planned in the Work Program of the KS Assembly for this year.

All of this, however, did not prevent Speaker Okerić from grossly violating the Constitution of Sarajevo Canton, which clearly stipulates:

"Regulations are considered adopted if at least 51% of the deputies are present at the session and if the proposed regulation is voted for by a majority of the total number of elected deputies."

Unfortunately, gross violation of the KS Constitution was not enough for Okerić, and he continued to violate the Rules of Procedure of the KS Assembly, which stipulates:

"The quorum for all sessions of the Assembly consists of a majority of elected deputies/representatives in the Assembly."

In response to my procedural intervention, Speaker Okerić claimed that the Rules of Procedure are the highest legal act for the proceedings of the KS Assembly, thereby demonstrating legal dilettantism and a fundamental lack of knowledge of the hierarchy of legal norms. He referred to the provisions governing the course of the session, completely disregarding constitutional provisions and articles of the Rules of Procedure that define the conditions for the lawful work of the Assembly.

And despite explicit warnings about the violation of the Constitution and the Rules of Procedure, Speaker Okerić continued the session with only 10 to 11 deputies present.

This unconstitutional act continued the political practice of the ruling coalition parties to violate legal norms when it suits their personal interests. This is their understanding of parliamentary democracy, as a distorted form of simulated parliamentarism, but without the essence of the fundamental idea of democracy, which implies respect for legal norms.

At that, essentially illegal session, the adoption of the Law on Amendments to the Law on Mining, the Law on Concessions, and other important regulations was planned, without a secured quorum, without the presence of a majority of deputies, and without equal parliamentary debate.

Speaker Okerić clearly does not understand or consciously ignores the fact that a session is not an isolated act but a process, and that a quorum must exist throughout its duration, not just at the beginning and during voting.

According to the logic imposed by the leadership of the KS Assembly, it is enough to simply open the session with the required quorum, and then the majority can leave the hall, stay in their offices and cafes, not participate in the debate, and finally return only to raise their hands according to pre-arranged instructions.

What, then, is the purpose of the legislative body if it passes laws without substantive debate and without equal participation of all deputies?

Unfortunately, this is precisely the political intention of the Trojka parties and their way of working. In this direction, they have also amended the Rules of Procedure, allowing laws not to be voted on immediately after the debate is concluded, but only at the end of the entire session. Thus, today we have sessions held as early as 2024, and the decisions on their points will be made only in 2025, because they have never been completed!

In this way, not only the meaning of debate and democratic decision-making is undermined, but also the spirit of the legislative process. Everything is reduced to the formal adoption of laws, without substantive discussion, without pluralism of opinions, and without respect for democratic standards. If we adopt laws only formally, without democracy, without argumentation, without opposition participation, then the essence of legislative work is devalued and rendered meaningless.

The caucus of the Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina in the KS Assembly does not want to participate in such a market-like destruction of the constitutional and legal order and the adoption of unconstitutional regulations!

Citizens have given us their trust to represent their interests, not the interests of a narrow political-interest group. I am sure that the citizens did not vote for 10 or 11 deputies to turn political documents into legal acts, without equal participation and without a legal framework. If that were the case, the KS Assembly would not have 35, but 20 deputies.

Citizens have entrusted us to protect constitutionality, legal certainty, and equality of all before the law, not to support legal voluntarism, anarchy, obvious abuse of institutions, and discrimination.

And when I see what Trojka is doing in the institutions of Sarajevo Canton, it is not surprising at all that they chose Milorad Dodik, a fugitive from BiH justice, as their partner. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree!