Independent Board should annul the FUP chief tender and announce a new one under the valid law

We unanimously decided to ask the Independent Board to annul the tender for the election of the police director that it announced, and to announce a new one in accordance with the Law on Internal Affairs that is in force, said the Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Nermin Nikšić after the session of the FBiH Government, reports the BiH news agency Patria.

He explained that the reason for annulling the tender is the fact that during the implementation of the tender, which was announced according to the previous law, the new law on internal affairs came into force, rendering the previous one invalid.

- This is practically the same position as the one taken by the Security Commission of the House of Representatives of the FBiH Parliament. Therefore, the Government must not and does not want to operate under a law that is not in force. I hope that the Independent Board will know how to appreciate such a position of the Government and the competent parliamentary commission. What is important to emphasize is that the Government made its decisions based on information from the FBiH Ministry of Internal Affairs, and not based on the proposal of the Independent Board, which was not considered at all - said Nikšić.

According to Nikšić, the valid law clearly and precisely stipulates the way the Federal Police Administration operates in this case.

- The Government today made decisions that only establish what the law clearly stipulates. The mandate of the current police director has expired, and the Government confirmed this with its decision. In that case, the deputy director of the police performs the duties of the director until a new director is elected, which the Government also confirmed with its decision. Therefore, the law has ensured functional continuity in the work of this very important institution, and the Government has unanimously only confirmed it.

The Federal Police Administration continues to operate without any obstacles, and the current deputy director will take over the duties of the director in accordance with the law.

- Now it is up to the Independent Board and the FBiH Parliament to ensure the tender is carried out in accordance with the law, and that the new police director is appointed by the new Government after the procedure is completed. During that period, the Federal Police Administration can operate smoothly and perform its responsible job without any problems - said Nikšić.

The Federal Government today unanimously accepted the Information from the Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs on the procedure of the Independent Board for determining the Proposal of Candidates for the Election and Appointment of the Director of the Federal Police Administration, which was prepared by the Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs based on the Conclusion of the FBiH Government of December 10, 2014.

As explained by Patria's source from the FBiH Government, if the Independent Board nevertheless proceeds with Lukač's appointment, it will end up in court. Otherwise, the president of the Independent Board, Sead Selman, is in a conflict of interest under the new law because he cannot be on the Independent Board and choose the FUP director while also being an employee of the same institution.