Cero: What lies behind Dodik and Čović's term 'political representation'

(Patria) - The President of the HDZ BiH, Dragan Čović, stated after today's session of the HNS that the formation of the Council of Ministers of BiH has been agreed upon between the three political blocs and that they must now discuss the distribution of portfolios.

"The statement has been agreed upon between the three political blocs. We have reached a stage where we must discuss the distribution of portfolios. I am waiting in the coming days for an initiative to sit down as soon as possible to avoid other problems," said Čović.

When asked whether the DF is desirable as a partner in the new government, Čović said that among Bosniaks, the SDA, i.e. Bakir Izetbegović, leads a bloc of parties. 

"It is up to the SDA who they will have in that bloc. The DF will not be in the negotiations, only these three parties," said Čović.

Legal expert and commentator on political relations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Muharem Cero, says he recognises in such a response from Čović a "cunning attempt" to divide the entire political system of Bosnia and Herzegovina into three ethnic representations: Bosniak, Serb and Croat representation, while completely removing from political life all those parties that do not carry an ethnic prefix. Such behaviour by Čović and Milorad Dodik, the president of the SNSD, says Cero, is contrary to the Dayton Peace Agreement, the Constitution of BiH, and civilisational values.

"According to the Constitution of BiH, the bearers of sovereignty in Bosnia and Herzegovina are not only the three constituent peoples, but also Others," said Cero in a comment for the Patria news agency, adding that it represents a serious violation of the Constitution of BiH to exclude Others from the political life of BiH, as Dodik and Čović are attempting to achieve through the system of "three political representations". 

Cero says that the term political representation in BiH appeared quietly, and as such entered the public space of BiH, but that Dodik and Čović are now intensively trying to operationalise it on the ground, among other things by classifying the DF exclusively within the Bosniak corpus.

"Parliamentary majorities in BiH are made up of political parties, not representations," says Cero, adding that Dodik's attempt to expand his representation failed on Sunday, because the SDS refused to enter into government with him.

"Or, Dodik's attempt to create a 'Serb National Assembly', as a copy of the Croat National Assembly, failed. Finally, it was expected that after the Serb and Croat ones, the Bosniaks would also start forming a 'Bosniak National Assembly', which is precisely the goal of Dodik and Čović," says Cero.

Cero assesses that the concept of political representations for Bosnia and Herzegovina, consisting exclusively of national parties, was conceived in Zagreb and Belgrade, and that Dodik and Čović are merely the executors of those works. The ultimate goal of such a project, Cero points out, is to further divide Bosnia and Herzegovina into three ethnic units, while denying civic political parties any possibility of influencing political life in BiH.