Can additional consultations reconcile governing partners regarding Božović?

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - A meeting of representatives of the SDA, SNSD, and HDZ was supposed to be held in Sarajevo today with the aim of clarifying doubts regarding the appointment of Mlađen Božović as Minister for Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

However, as confirmed to Patria by the leadership of the SDA, Milorad Dodik will not attend the additional consultations, making a resolution of the situation difficult to expect. The House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina is scheduled to decide on Thursday, January 16, whether Mlađen Božović, proposed by DNS, will be appointed as the Minister for Human Rights and Refugees in the Council of Ministers of BiH.

Mlađen Božović (DNS), the candidate for Minister for Human Rights and Refugees of BiH, did not receive the support of the majority of the members of the Commission for the Preparation of the Election of the Council of Ministers of BiH to recommend him to the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly for that position.

Of the 10 members present at the Commission, four were against (SDP, NS, A-SDA, and PDP), four were for (PDA, DNS, HDZ, and SP), and two abstained (SDA and SBB). Incidentally, this decision is not binding for the House of Representatives, which will vote on Božović's appointment independently of the Commission's opinion. However, judging by the vote in the Commission, Božović's appointment could be questionable if the coalition partners do not reach further agreement, which the SDA had requested.

Incidentally, the representatives of this party in the House of Representatives of the PSBiH were unwilling to comment on whether they would support Božović. SNSD leader Milorad Dodik assessed that the earlier agreement should be respected, that the party entitled to propose a candidate should do so, regardless of whether someone likes it or not. Dodik believes that questioning Božović's appointment again would mean a new crisis in BiH. The Central Election Commission announced on December 18 that it had determined that Božović meets all the necessary conditions for appointment stipulated by the Election Law of BiH.

Božović, who was proposed on behalf of the Democratic People's Alliance, also passed the necessary checks by the BiH Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA). The House of Representatives confirmed the appointment of the other ministers in the Council of Ministers on December 23, but the confirmation of Božović was postponed because the necessary checks at SIPA were not completed by the session.