Nikšić gathers SDP deputies: Will they attend the session he is trying to prevent and are they obliged to defend him?

(Patria) - Last week, a meeting was held at SDP headquarters between SDP president and Federal Prime Minister Nermin Nikšić and deputies in the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The meeting was also attended by Deputy President Adnan Šteta and Nikšić's closest associate in the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Minister of Displaced Persons and Refugees Nerin Didar, but not Vojin Mijatović or Zukan Helez as deputy presidents of the SDP. It should not be forgotten that Mijatović is also under investigation regarding a public call and allocation of funds from the Ministry of Development, Entrepreneurship and Crafts.

The topics of that meeting were not publicly disclosed, but it is known that an emergency session of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been scheduled for November 21 at the request of opposition clubs (SDA, SBiH, DF) with only one item on the agenda: Information on alleged illegal actions of Prime Minister Nermin Nikšić and interference in the work of police authorities of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Although these three clubs in the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina do not have the majority needed to hold the session, deputies from other parties that make up the government should show responsibility and appear at the session.

If deputies from the parties that make up the government do not attend the session, it will be a clear signal of how much they respect the Parliament and how much they value coalition relations with Nikšić.

SDP deputies face two options. One is not to attend the session, thereby sending a message that they fear the debate itself, and the other is to attend and defend Nermin Nikšić, which is also a double-edged sword because, after the published messages, it is clear that Nikšić had controversial communication with the head of the Federal Police Administration, Vahidin Munjić, who is under measures prohibiting him from performing his duties.

Given that he cannot know which direction the debate will take, nor whether coalition partners will be his shield, Nikšić sent a letter on November 17 to the Chief Federal Prosecutor Munib Halilović, requesting clarification on whether the session could jeopardize the integrity of the investigation involving officials of federal authorities, which is being conducted by POSKOK.

Opposition deputies believe that no one can ban the holding of a parliamentary session, and the head of the SDA Club, Mirsad Zaimović, told Patria that this is "an attempt to avoid debate and hide from the public things that someone clearly wants to conceal."

"I see no problem in holding the session. If there are things that should not be made public, a session closed to the public can also be held," Zaimović said.

While Nikšić and the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina accuse the Parliament of using this session to exert influence and pressure, the letter signed by Nikšić himself, as one of the actors in the 'Spengavanje' affair that prompted the request for an emergency session, exerts a different kind of pressure on the Federal Prosecutor's Office.

We remind you that POSKOK is conducting an investigation against several individuals for multiple corruption-related criminal offenses, encompassing Vahidin Munjić, Arijana Huseinović-Ajanović, head of Nermin Nikšić's cabinet, Muhamed Ohranović, a police officer of the FUP, and Ervin Mušinović, director of the Police Academy of the FMUP, all of whom have been subjected to measures prohibiting them from performing their duties, contacting each other, and contacting witnesses.

In the first phase, Nikšić was not included in the POSKOK operation, nor is his current status known—whether he is a suspect, a witness, or still an unidentified person.