Is there the will to correct the imbalance of Bosniaks in state institutions?

By: Amra Vrabac

While we commemorate the Bosniak Congress of that war year of 1993 and the return of the name Bosniak, it seems that even 32 years later, we must constantly reaffirm the idea of Bosniaks as a people with all their rights.

And just as in 1993 the fight was for the state and the survival of Bosniaks on every inch of BiH's territory, today the fight is being waged, or should be waged, for the survival of Bosniaks in BiH's institutions. Because the data presented this year do not send a good message and show that Bosniaks are marginalized in certain institutions.

Since May of this year, the issue of national structure in 74 state institutions, including the ministries of the Council of Ministers of BiH, has been actively opened.

Bosniaks only refer to the 2013 Census, while everyone else seems to be comfortable with the 1991 data. By law, only three state police agencies are staffed according to the 1991 census, and even that data, at least when it comes to SIPA, has not been respected. Official data show that the number of Serbs in SIPA is higher than the number of Bosniaks.

According to the answers that state representatives who opened the topic of national imbalance received from state institutions, or most of them, as some refused to provide answers, an imbalance to the detriment of Bosniaks has been determined in most institutions.

The situation has worsened further in the past two years, since the 'Trojka' (SDP, NIP, Naša stranka) has been in state government. Currently, there are about 800 fewer Bosniaks in BiH institutions than they are entitled to according to the Census.

In institutions headed by SNSD cadres, it is evident that preference is given to Serbs. According to the national structure as of December 2024, out of 2,163 employees in the Indirect Taxation Authority (UIO), headed by Zoran Tegeltija, there are 830 Serbs, which is a far higher number than they are entitled to, including the nine employees of the UIO BiH Management Board.

In the UIO BiH, there are 868 Bosniaks, 454 Croats, and 11 identify as 'Others'. Out of 215 management positions in the UIO BiH, Serbs hold 86, Bosniaks 82, and Croats 46.

The largest number of UIO BiH employees are in Banja Luka, which is also the seat of the Administration, as well as the Banja Luka Regional Center. In Banja Luka alone, there are 951 employees, of whom 505 are Serbs, 326 Bosniaks, 113 Croats, and seven 'Others'. According to the 2013 census, there are about 200 fewer Bosniaks in the UIO, while there are 169 more Serbs than they are entitled to according to the census, and 122 more Croats. Before Tegeltija, the head of the UIO was Miro Džakula, close to HDZ BiH.

In the Ministry of Security of BiH, headed by Nenad Nešić from January 2023 to December 2024, when he was arrested, and then the deputy minister Ivica Bošnjak took over the leadership, out of 32 people who started employment during that period, 28 are Serbs. Bošnjak requested the employment of new staff. A similar situation exists in the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations and the Ministry of Finance and Treasury, which are headed by SNSD cadres.

In the Ministry of Justice of BiH, led by Davor Bunoza (HDZ), the number of Croats and Bosniaks is almost equal.

In the Ministry of Transport and Communications, headed by Edin Forto, out of six management officials, only one is a Bosniak. Forto stated in one of his responses that professionalism is more important to him than national affiliation, which raises the question of whether there are not enough professional, capable, and educated Bosniaks who can be employed in this ministry.

In 13 state institutions headquartered in the BiH entity of Republika Srpska, out of a total of 3,045 employees, only 1,165 are of Bosniak nationality. There are 361 fewer Bosniaks in positions, while there are 296 more Serbs in positions, and 109 more Croats, and a certain number of employees from the 'Others' category are also missing.

Banja Luka is also the headquarters of the Agency for Development of Higher Education and Quality Assurance of BiH (HEA). Although the head of this institution is Bosniak Enes Hašić, in the last four years, three civil servants have been promoted to higher positions, two of them to managerial positions, and none of them are Bosniaks. The situation is not much better in IDDEEA, headed by Almir Badnjević.

The Communications Regulatory Agency, headed by SNSD's Draško Milinović, who is awaiting another term as director, has an organizational unit in Banja Luka with 21 employees, all of whom are Serbs, while in the Mostar organizational unit, out of 12 employees, 10 are Croats and two are Serbs.

When it comes to state institutions headquartered in Mostar, the imbalance of Bosniaks is also evident there.

The tenders conducted by the Civil Service Agency of BiH and the formation of Tender Commissions are a separate story. Three members are appointed by the Agency, headed by Anita Markić (HDZ), and two members by the institution where the employment is taking place. According to an analysis of 60 decisions on the appointment of commissions during 2023-2025, it has never happened that three members are from the Bosniak community.

MP Šemsudin Mehmedović requested clarification from Director Markić as to why directors, deputy directors, and other senior civil servants, and invariably from the Croat people, are appointed as members of commissions from the list of experts for tender commissions for filling the lowest positions of expert associates and senior expert associates? Is it possible that there are no expert advisors and heads on the list of experts who can be members of tender commissions for the lowest positions of expert associates and senior expert associates? Is it possible that there are not enough expert persons on the list of experts who identify as Bosniaks, and why are commission members not appointed in accordance with the proportional representation of constituent peoples and 'Others'?

"According to Article 24 of the Law on Civil Service in BiH Institutions, the Civil Service Agency of BiH appoints special selection commissions that are independent and impartial in conducting public tenders (paragraph 1). In the manner prescribed by bylaws, the selection commission consists of five members, of whom two are civil servants from the institution to which the public tender relates and who have academic and professional experience in the fields covered by the public tender process, while the other three members are appointed from the list of experts determined by the Agency (paragraph 2). The Instruction on the list of experts of the Civil Service Agency of BiH, in Article 16, among other things, stipulates that when appointing experts to the commission, national and gender representation is approximately ensured, as far as possible, and that, if an expert is appointed from among civil servants or other public officials, they should, as a rule, be appointed to a position of the same or higher level than the position being filled, meaning the upper level of the expert position is not defined or limited, and your request challenging the appointment of senior civil servants for the selection of non-managerial positions is unfounded," she stated in her response.

Director Markić emphasized that the Agency takes into account and strives to ensure that no more than two commission members are from the same constituent people or from the 'Others' category, and that no more than one expert engaged in the commission is employed by the same employer."