NEW BLOCKADE ON THE HORIZON Krišto does not support amendments to the Law on the Council of Ministers, which signals their fate in the House of Peoples

By: Amina Čorbo-Zećo

The Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Borjana Krišto made a statement today regarding the recently adopted Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on the Council of Ministers of BiH, which bypasses the role of the Chairperson in appointing ministers, i.e., establishing executive power.

“I would not comment, these are things that someone wants to call a blockade. I have never blocked anything. The appointment procedure cannot be viewed in isolation, because there is a Constitution that specifies it. This is not building a system. It has no legal basis, nor is it in the interest of BiH, nor in the formation of executive power,” stated Krišto, making it clear that the law will not have support in the House of Peoples.

Let us recall, the Draft Law, which was adopted at the 29th session of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, was proposed by MP Jasmin Emrić (NES). According to him, the House of Representatives has the right to propose a candidate for minister if the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers does not fulfill this obligation within 14 days of the minister's resignation or dismissal.

This law was created in response to the months-long delay in appointing the Minister of Security of BiH, after Nenad Nešić resigned in January, and a successor was not appointed for six months.

The law was supported by SDA, DF, Trojka (SDP, NiP, Naša stranka), and the opposition from RS, while MPs from the HDZ and SNSD were against it.

Given the political structure of the House of Peoples, where HDZ and SNSD hold a decisive majority for quorum, it is expected that delegates from these parties will block the law precisely by blocking the holding of the session, which would leave the amendments without legal force and the current system of appointing ministers unchanged.

This further confirms the divisions within state institutions and complicates the process of forming executive power in Bosnia and Herzegovina.