BOSS and Sefer's "Serbs" in the KS Assembly: Haris Pleho, Rasim Smajić and Nermin Bjelak!

Newly elected BOSS and BPS-Sefer Halilović representatives in the Sarajevo Canton Assembly Haris Pleho and Nermin Bjelak, given that both are current municipal/city councillors, and Bjelak is also the deputy chairperson of the Stari Grad Municipal Council, face the revocation of their mandates due to fraud in declaring their nationality for this year's general elections, writes the Bosnian news agency Patria (NAP).

Both Pleho and Bjelak declared themselves as "others" in the form filled out by candidates during the 2012 local elections. Two years later, both declared themselves as Serbs, and they were joined by another BOSS representative who passed, Rasim Smajić.

As Patria learns from the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the issue of revoking the mandates of Pleho and Bjelak could be placed on the agenda at the next session, while Smajić will likely remain a representative because he is not a current municipal/city councillor.

-The Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina has clearly specified and defined that a candidate, when submitting party lists, i.e., filling out individual candidacy forms, must declare their national affiliation. The law states that this declaration is for the electoral cycle in which the candidate list was submitted. Therefore, the declarations of Haris Pleho and Nermin Bjelak, who in 2012 during the local elections were among the others, cannot by law be erased mid-term, and they did so and now at the end of July, just before the elections, declared themselves as Serbs, explains our interlocutor.

Furthermore, he states that besides the possibility of losing their mandates, the two could, if the Federal Police Administration and the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina take an interest in this case, also face criminal prosecution for false representation and fraud.

Pleho, Bjelak and Smajić declared themselves as Serbs on the lists for election to the Sarajevo Canton Assembly, in order to be elected to the House of Peoples of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina during its formation, in the Serb Club, which has always been difficult to fill.

This House of Peoples is filled with representatives from cantonal assemblies based on national affiliation, and given that it is more likely they will secure an additional seat as Serbs, the BOSS duo and the member of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Patriotic Party led by Sefer Halilović, calculatedly opted for this national corpus.

On the candidate list, in the BOSS party, Haris Pleho finished first with 2,754 votes, and second was Rasim Smajić with 2,598 votes, while on the BPS-Sefer Halilović list, Nermin Bjelak had 835 votes.

WHAT THE ELECTION LAW SAYS

The Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina clearly specifies how candidates declare their national affiliation.

Article 4.19

(5) The candidate list contains the name and surname of each candidate on the list, unique personal identification number, address of residence, declaration of affiliation with a constituent people or the group of others, number of a valid ID card and place of its issuance, signature of the president of the political party, or the president of the political parties in the coalition.

(6) The declaration of affiliation with a constituent people or the group of others from paragraph (5) of this article shall be used as the basis for exercising the right to an elected or appointed position for which the condition is a declaration of affiliation with a constituent people or the group of others in the electoral cycle for which the candidate list was submitted.

(7) A candidate has the right not to declare their affiliation with a constituent people or the group of others on the candidate list, but non-declaration shall be considered as a waiver of the right to an elected or appointed position for which the condition is a declaration of affiliation with a constituent people or the group of others.