CEC reports Elek's threats against members Vanja Bjelica Prutina and Jovan Kalaba

After the director of “Sarajevo-gas” from East Sarajevo, Nedeljko Elek, a member of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), called on his official X profile for pressure on members of the Central Election Commission, the CEC of Bosnia and Herzegovina confirmed to Detektor that the case has been reported and that pressure cannot affect their work.

In response to Detektor's inquiry, Nedeljko Elek said that he intended to put pressure on the CEC and that he did so consciously.

“I believe it is their duty, as representatives of the Republika Srpska, to protect the institution of the President of Republika Srpska, and judging by their previous actions, I doubt that and think that every initiative and pressure is important to remind them of their duties towards Republika Srpska,” he said.

When asked whether he thinks it is acceptable to call for accountability of CEC members, Elek confirmed.

“This is a public space. I only made a suggestion to remind them that they were elected from the RS and that they must protect it. And if they vote to revoke the mandate of the President of the RS, they should be declared persona non grata,” he said.

Elek received comments of support on the social network X, but also criticism for the threat made.

“Declare Vanja in East Sarajevo and Kalaba in Banja Luka persona non grata. Schedule demonstrations under their windows. Remember these faces, we meet them,” Elek wrote on X, where he also posted photos of two CEC members, including Vanja Bjelica Prutina.

The post came ahead of the announcement of the CEC's decision on revoking Milorad Dodik's mandate.

The President of the CEC of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Irena Hadžiabdić, told Detektor that they are aware of the pressures and threats, stating that they will not allow calls for lynching of their members and that they seek protection through institutional steps.

“Due to such allegations, we inform the Directorate for Coordination by letter and report because it is putting a target on the heads of CEC members, which we did just this morning (yesterday, editor's note),” she said.

She explained that as an institution, they have always requested enhanced protective measures for members who have a target placed on them.

CEC member Vanja Bjelica Prutina told Detektor that threats and pressures are frequent in relation to the number of complaints with which certain individuals are dissatisfied, emphasizing that this happens even though members cannot make any decision independently.

“But it seems they consider a tried-and-tested recipe to be ad hominem attacks, putting pressure on individuals, with insults and threats as a reflection of their own intellectual impotence,” said Bjelica Prutina.

She added that such pressures cannot affect the decisions they make.

“Does this make my work more difficult? I wouldn't say so, because whatever happens, professionalism is above all, and I think my work over the past five years best demonstrates that. Every threat will be forwarded to the competent authorities for risk assessment,” she stated.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska did not respond to Detektor's inquiry by the time of publication as to whether they will provide protection to CEC members.

Dodik was found guilty of knowingly and deliberately, from July 1 to July 9, 2023, in Banja Luka, taking actions aimed at continuing the legislative process, not applying and not implementing the decisions of the High Representative, despite knowing that High Representative Christian Schmidt had issued a decision preventing the entry into force of the Law on Non-Application of Decisions of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina from July 1 of the same year, as well as a decision preventing the entry into force of the Law on Amendments to the Law on the Publication of Laws and Other Regulations of the RS.

According to the final verdict, Miloš Lukić was acquitted because it was not proven that, in his capacity as acting director of the “Official Gazette” of the RS, he signed the form, thereby enabling the publication of the decrees signed by Dodik.