Political minnows attack the last positions of Bosniaks in RS: They know how little they can do, but they don't care!

By: Rasim Belko

In all politically organized societies, there is an unwritten but logical rule that when facing a serious challenge, the weaker unite around the stronger. The bearer of the idea, infrastructure, and electoral legitimacy naturally takes on the role of the gravitational center. Only in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a rule when it comes to the political action of Bosniaks in the Republika Srpska entity, do we witness a grotesque inversion of this principle. Here, political entities without real electoral weight, without mandates, and without field infrastructure unite among themselves and then "invite" serious parties to join them. This is not political strategy. This is political absurdity.

The absurdity is even greater when one considers the brutal reality of the electoral landscape in RS. The total political strength of Bosniak and other non-Serb parties in this entity barely reaches three to four mandates in the National Assembly of RS. This is not a result of poor marketing or bad campaigns, but a direct consequence of systematic ethnic cleansing, decades of intimidation of returnees, institutional discrimination, but also the political misery and suffering that has deceived them over the past two and a half decades.

In the 2022 General Elections, we had two blocs - the Movement for the State, gathered around SDA and SDP as project leaders, and the Coalition "For the State of BiH". A total of ten parties in one, six in the other bloc. When the dust settled, together with two smaller parties, they barely garnered slightly over 40,000 votes in the entire entity. This is a devastating figure, but also the maximum reach under conditions where the electorate is shrinking, returnees are discouraged, and the diaspora, tired of deceptions, manipulations, and false patriotic slogans, increasingly decides to be indifferent to elections in their homeland.

In such circumstances, any fragmentation of the already modest political potential is not just irresponsible, it is a political crime. Therefore, it is completely incomprehensible, but not accidental, that five minor parties - NES, NiP, PDA, BHI KF, and Naprijed BiH - have decided to announce their joint appearance in RS in the 2026 General Elections. Parties that individually have neither structure, nor results, nor serious electoral support, are forming an alliance that can hardly achieve even one mandate.

Why so early? Why without any real political foundation? The answer is self-evident: the goal is not the state, the goal is not the position of Bosniaks, nor better representation of the non-Serb population in RS. The goal is political blackmail and an alibi. To be the first, to occupy media space, and then to accuse other parties of "destroying unity" if they do not join this political improvisational project. However, that narrative is unlikely to succeed.

Even the justified criticism of the chaos within the "Movement for the State" project, caused by SDP and their vice-president Vojin Mijatović with no small contribution from Edin Ramić of SDA, is not and cannot be a sufficient argument for a coalition of minimalists in a situation where every vote counts.

Because, on the other side are parties that have mandates, electoral results, and real infrastructure in RS. Besides SDA and SDP, there are also the Party for BiH, the Democratic Front, BH Greens, and other political entities that have already proven they can cross the electoral threshold in this entity. These are not ideal combinations, but they are the only ones with measurable political weight. Opposing them with a bloc of political dwarfs is not an act of courage, but an act of sabotage.

Therefore, it is clear that the bloc of political minnows has decided to consciously shoot down the very idea of a unified appearance of pro-Bosnian parties in RS. Not because of principles, but because of petty party interests, personal ambitions, and the need to remain politically relevant, even if through conflict.

And here we come to the key truth that many avoid stating. Milorad Dodik is not solely to blame for the catastrophic position of Bosniaks in the smaller BiH entity. He is merely the face of a system that openly denies their rights. Another, equally dangerous culprit, are political charlatans who occasionally visit returnees, distribute false promises, feign concern and patriotism, and behind the scenes do everything to keep Bosniaks in RS reduced to the constitutional minimum – numerically weak, politically divided, and permanently marginalized.

This is not ignorance. This is not a mistake. This is a conscious political practice.

The only thing missing is for Sabina Ćudić and Naša stranka to establish AFŽ in RS and start the final showdown with Milorad Dodik for the benefit of Bosniaks.