Was Čović promised that a Croat would head the Federal Police Administration?

(Patria) - The public call for the election of members of the Independent Board of the FBiH Parliament, which is also responsible for the election of the Director of the Federal Police Administration as well as for parliamentary oversight of the FUP's work, is still open for applications.

Seven members are to be elected, and applications are to be submitted to the Joint Working Group of the Election and Appointment Commissions.

The announcement of this public call followed a session of this Joint Working Group held on June 20 and consultations with the speakers of both houses of the FBiH Parliament. First, a public call was issued for members of the Management Board of RTV FBiH, and then for members of the Independent Board, which has not existed since August 2022.

A new director of the Federal Police Administration has not been elected since 2019. The FUP has been managed by the Deputy Director of the FUP, and after the expiry of his mandate, the FBiH Government appointed acting director Vahidin Munjić.

For years, HDZ BiH has wanted this position, and candidates close to HDZ have applied for several previously announced public calls. In one of them, Zoran Galić, then the current director of the BiH Border Police, and now a fugitive deputy director of SIPA, suspected of corruption and accepting bribes, was ranked first, but the FBiH Government never appointed him. He even sued the FBiH Government, but his lawsuit was rejected.

According to the Law on Internal Affairs of FBiH, the Minister of FMUP and the Director of FUP cannot be from the same constituent nation. Given that Minister Ramo Isak is Bosniak, the director should be from another constituent nation.

After the last meeting of the parties forming the government at the state level, a meeting between Dragan Čović and Prime Minister Nermin Nikšić with ministers from the FBiH Government was held the next day, where they agreed on activities at the FBiH level. One of these is the appointment of the FUP director.

When US Ambassador Michael Murphy visited Čović in Mostar at the end of June, the HDZ president optimistically stated that he expected some pending issues to be resolved by September. This was followed by public calls for the Management Board of RTV FBiH and the Independent Board.

However, the appointment of the FUP director will still have to wait until the members of the Independent Board, confirmed by both houses of the FBiH Parliament, are first elected. Only after they take office can they announce a public call for the election of the FUP director.

According to the mood prevailing with Čović, it is certain that the position of FUP director has also been promised to him by foreign partners.

However, there are no Croats within the FUP with the required rank for this position, so it is certain that candidates from other MUPs or state agencies will apply.