For Čović, there is no new majority without the Election Law, opposition from RS ready to support it, pressure on the Bosniak Caucus

(Patria) - The emergency session/sessions of the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliament on April 4 was interrupted due to a lack of quorum, and some delegates behaved as if it were a continuation of the 11th emergency session, while some delegates from the HDZ and SNSD claimed that the 12th emergency session had begun, which was supposed to consider amendments to the BiH Election Law proposed by Marina Pendeš, relating to the election of the BiH Presidency member and according to which the Federation of BiH would be divided into two electoral units, i.e., five cantons each. However, the discussion did not take place because, at one point, the Bosniak Caucus left the session due to the arbitrary actions of the leadership of Nikola Špirić and Dragan Čović, who refused to continue the 11th session.

While Čović immediately requested that the minutes record that the Bosniak Caucus broke the quorum, media close to the HDZ announced a new session of the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliament for the end of April. Večernji list published that a meeting in Banja Luka is pending the amendments to the BiH Election Law. This refers to the continuation of talks about a new parliamentary majority with the opposition from RS. However, clearly with Čović's conditions.

The head of the Bosniak Caucus in the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliament, Šefik Džaferović, explained this week what preceded the departure from the session of the House of Peoples, and also spoke about a possible new session of this house.

Džaferović told FTV that a regular session could be convened, but points on the agenda that were on emergency sessions cannot be included in a regular session because those points must be completed as arranged in the emergency sessions.

"So, first the dismissal of the Speaker of the House, then the dismissal of ministers from SNSD, then these other points that were on the last session, the Law on Amendments to the Law on Financing of Institutions, the Election Law, and so on, without any skipping.

We have never denied a quorum. Even when we were in a position to leave sessions, we were actually defending the Rules of Procedure and the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina - we never blocked, nor was it our intention, nor do we want to.

If the regular session includes regular agenda items, and does not include items that were the subject of emergency sessions, then there is no problem. It will be a problem, and I think it is already being announced, to include some agenda items in that regular session that were discussed in emergency sessions. If that happens, it can happen, but then in order. Points from the 11th session, first the dismissal of Speaker Nikola Špirić, second, the dismissal of ministers from SNSD, third, these two points that were proposed for the 12th session, and then everything else. If there is an attempt to avoid putting these dismissals on the agenda, then, of course, we will have a problem again," said Džaferović.

Džaferović said that if there is no agreement within the Collegium on the agenda items, then the House should address the issue.

"And the House is the one that, by a majority of votes, as voting is done, determines what is in accordance with the Rules of Procedure and what is not. Dragan Čović and Špirić persistently avoid doing that because they are aware that there is a majority in the House that will not accept their opinion, and that is why they are doing what they are doing," said Džaferović.

Džaferović emphasized that he saw through Čović's intention to blame the Bosniak Caucus for the blockade of the House, but reminded that the first denial of a quorum was by the HDZ.

"Three HDZ delegates did not appear after the break, and the next agenda item was the dismissal of Špirić. And then later, two more denials of quorum were by SNSD on the agenda item of the dismissal of the Speaker of the House and the dismissal of ministers from SNSD. And of course, I think they are aware that this is unconstitutional behavior and they are trying to find some variant to accuse us, the Bosniak Caucus, that we are obstructing something. We are not obstructing anything, we are defending the Rules of Procedure."

He explains that it is not by chance that the Election Law was first proposed in the House of Peoples because Čović counts on it passing more easily and that the opposition from RS will also support it because it does not concern them too much.

"That is why this law was submitted to the House of Peoples, and not to the House of Representatives, to try to pass an unconstitutional election law, contrary to European conventions, contrary to the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. Even contrary to the decisions of the High Representative. Špirić's and Čović's entire scenario was to avoid the dismissal of Špirić and ministers from SNSD, and to adopt an unconstitutional election law with the help of the opposition from RS."

Džaferović believes that Čović is ready to betray the opposition from RS and avoid the dismissal of SNSD cadres, but that the opposition is also aware of this.