Čović pressured the CEC to try to abolish parallel mandates, Inzko also reacted

Although at today's session of the Central Election Commission of BiH, President Stjepan Mikić persistently insisted that the Instruction allowing officials in the transitional period from elections to the formation of government to simultaneously hold executive and legislative positions be put out of force as of today, this did not happen, writes the news agency Patria.

Against putting this Instruction out of force voted Ahmet Šantić and Suad Arnautović, and due to the absence of Irena Hadžiabdić from the session, there was no two-thirds majority. The two of them believed that a vote should be taken for its abolition, but not that it should take effect immediately, given that the government has not been formed.

The Election Law of BiH allows holders of executive power (premiers, ministers) to simultaneously hold those positions if they are elected as representatives or delegates.

However, since the time period is not specified, the CEC adopted an Instruction stating that they can simultaneously perform both functions until the formation of a new government, without specifying the time period involved.

It is evident that Mikić, under the direct order of Dragan Čović, leader of HDZ BiH, attempted in this way to put pressure on the leader of DF, Željko Komšić, who stated that he would not allow the formation of the FBiH Government without the Council of Ministers.

Čović is now in a hurry to form only the Government of the Federation of BiH, and therefore tried, even through the CEC, to secure the abolition of this instruction. In that way, the current composition of the FBiH Government would be left without nine ministers who won representative mandates in the elections.

Since the CEC has no grounds to revoke their mandates, Čović, through Mikić, tried to push for the abolition of this Instruction, which would leave the current government composition without nine people, meaning the impossibility of work, i.e., the necessity to elect a new Government at tomorrow's extraordinary session of the House of Representatives of the FBiH Parliament, in which there are six HDZ ministers.

Čović thus needed another lever in his hands, so that if the process of verifying state ministers were not completed, which would delay the appointment of the Council of Ministers, he could at least secure tomorrow's confirmation of the new Federal Government.

Upon the news that the abolition of the Instruction would be considered today, High Representative Valentin Inzko also reacted, asking the CEC to postpone this issue until the federal and state governments are formed.