Nikšić avoids session of the House of Representatives: Key government reports withdrawn due to 'prior commitments'

(Patria) - Prime Minister Nermin Nikšić informed the leadership of the House of Representatives that he will not attend the 26th regular session scheduled for November 20, justifying his absence with previously arranged commitments.



In the explanation, he states that neither he nor his deputies are able to attend the session that day due to a series of previously planned meetings related to the Southern Interconnection project, as well as preparations for a joint meeting of coalition leaders organized by the US Embassy, scheduled for the same day at 3:00 PM.

Because of this, he requested that the “Report on the Work of the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2023” and the “Report on the Work of the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2024” be withdrawn from the agenda.

These very reports were the key items of today's regular session, which has meanwhile begun in Sarajevo. Alongside them, deputies were presented with reports from several federal institutions and funds, reports from the Privatization Audit Agency for 2023 and 2024, reports from the Public Enterprise “Film Center” Sarajevo and the Una National Park, and an analytical report from the FBiH Environmental Protection Fund. Also proposed for the agenda was a decision on new borrowing from the Council of Europe Development Bank for the reconstruction of psychiatric hospitals in Sarajevo and Mostar.

While the regular session has just begun, political attention has simultaneously shifted to the 16th extraordinary session of the House of Representatives scheduled for tomorrow, convened at the initiative of opposition deputies.

The sole item on that session's agenda will be the “Information on alleged illegal actions by Prime Minister Nermin Nikšić and interference in the work of police authorities of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” prompted by recently published messages between Nikšić and acting Director of the Federal Police Administration Vahidin Munjić, whose authenticity the Prime Minister confirmed, reports odgovor.ba.

It is precisely because of this session that Nikšić sent a special letter to the Federal Prosecutor's Office of FBiH, seeking an opinion on whether the parliamentary debate could compromise the integrity of the investigation being conducted by the Special Department for Combating Corruption, Organized and Inter-Cantonal Crime. The investigation concerns a series of alleged abuses in the FUP, and against several officials, including acting FUP Director Vahidin Munjić, police officer Muhamed Ohranović, Police Academy Director Evin Mušinović, and the head of the Prime Minister's cabinet, Arijana Huseinović Ajanović – measures prohibiting contact have already been imposed, including a ban on communication with Prime Minister Nikšić. These measures have for the first time formally confirmed that the Prime Minister is directly linked to the case.

The Federal Prosecutor's Office yesterday, after a meeting of the college of prosecutors, responded that it would not encroach on the right of the Parliament of FBiH to discuss matters within its jurisdiction. It was emphasized that it would be “pretentious to claim” that a parliamentary debate could harm the investigation, given that a large amount of evidence had already been made public and been the subject of political and media commentary, even before the formal opening of the investigation.

The Prosecutor's Office stressed that it is the obligation of the legislative, executive, and judicial authorities to act within their powers, while it will ensure the integrity of the investigation.