SDA Presidency: Constitutional Court of BiH to have the final say on NSRs decisions and referendum, OHR also to act

(Patria) - The SDA Presidency held a session today where it adopted several conclusions on the current political political situation in BiH, as well as events that marked the past week.

The SDA Presidency welcomed the verdict of the Court of BiH, by which Milorad Dodik was finally sentenced to one year in prison and a six-year ban from holding political office, as well as the decision of the Central Election Commission of BiH, by which he was stripped of his mandate as president of the RS entity.

"These decisions represent a correct response to Dodik's aggressive secessionist policy, which he has been pursuing for years, pushing Bosnia and Herzegovina into constant crises and instability, and an important step towards strengthening the rule of law. We demand that the competent institutions, in accordance with the verdict of the Court of BiH, ban Dodik from holding all political positions, primarily the president of SNSD, and ensure the organization of elections for a new president of the RS entity.

We also demand that the judicial institutions of BiH show additional determination in other prosecution and court cases against Milorad Dodik, and prosecute the criminal offense of attacking the constitutional order of BiH," stated the SDA.

SDA Members of Parliament at the state and entity level will initiate the following procedures with the Constitutional Court of BiH:

- Request for an assessment of the constitutionality of the Conclusions of the NSRs of August 22, 2025, which relate to the non-acceptance and rejection of decisions of BiH institutions, and the conclusion related to the holding of a referendum in the RS on issues that violate the Constitution and laws of BiH.

- Request for an assessment of the constitutionality of the Law on Amendments to the Law on Referendum and Citizen Initiative of the RS, by which the NSRs attempts to take over the competencies of election commissions in the procedure of holding a referendum in this entity.

In the event that the aforementioned referendum procedure is initiated through legal violence, a request will be submitted for an assessment of the constitutionality of the "referendum question", because it is contrary to the Constitution of BiH and the law, in a way that the question relates to the acceptance or non-acceptance of decisions of BiH institutions, the non-implementation or other obstruction of which is designated as a criminal offense under Article 239 of the Criminal Code of BiH.

If the NSRs confirms the appointment of the entity's designate without a proposal submitted by the authorized proposer, as announced, a request will be submitted for an assessment of the constitutionality of the Decision on the appointment/confirmation of the designate for the appointment of the Government of the RS.

We call on the OHR to act concretely within its competencies and to prevent legal violence and anarchy in the RS entity with its decisions.

Other conclusions of the SDA Presidency:

2. The SDA Presidency strongly condemns the attempts by HDZ mayor Stjepan Bošković to prevent the construction of a cemetery in Stolac. With such behavior, by which attempts are made to deny Bosniaks the basic human right to bury their dead, the HDZ continues the practice of systemic discrimination and disenfranchisement of the Bosniak people.

Bosniaks constitute 39 percent of Stolac's population, while they are represented in the City Administration by only three percent, and are completely absent from director positions, as well as management and supervisory boards. The situation is identical in Čapljina. The SDA supports the Bosniaks of Stolac in their demand for the urgent resolution of the cemetery issue in accordance with the originally issued building permit.

The SDA will also propose amendments to the laws that will ensure the prescribed constitutional obligation of proportional representation in all public authorities, in order to eliminate drastic examples of discrimination such as those experienced by Bosniaks and Serbs in Stolac and Čapljina.

3. The SDA Presidency warns the ruling coalition Trojka-SNSD-HDZ that if they miss the new deadline and do not submit the harmonized Reform Agenda to the European Commission by September 30, they will leave Bosnia and Herzegovina without an additional 212 million KM from the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans. Due to the incompetence of the authorities at the state level, the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina already missed the same amount of aid from the European Union in July. By missing the new deadline, the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina would be deprived of more than 420 million KM, as well as important reforms that are the state's obligation on the European path.

4. The SDA Presidency warns of the damage being done to the citizens of FBiH, to the benefit of the RS entity, in the distribution of funds collected from indirect taxes. By agreeing to the latest change in coefficients for the distribution of money from indirect taxes in September 2023, which increased the percentage allocated to the RS entity to 34.44 percent, Trojka agreed to divert citizens' money from FBiH to the budget managed by their coalition partner Milorad Dodik.

According to the percentages and figures presented in the media by Trojka's Deputy Minister of Finance and Treasury of BiH, hundreds of millions of KM are being transferred from FBiH to the budget of the RS entity. We demand that Trojka's cadres in institutions present the public with accurate data on the territorial structure of indirect tax revenues and their distribution to the entities, and that they urgently initiate the issue of changing the coefficients to ensure a fairer distribution.

5. The SDA Presidency emphasizes that the imbalance of employed Bosniaks in the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina is a direct consequence of Trojka's trading in exchange for entering power and handing over key positions to coalition partners SNSD and HDZ.

By handing over the Agency for Public Administration of BiH to HDZ, after the institution had been led by cadres of pro-Bosniak parties since its founding, Trojka consciously made a concession with severe consequences for the Bosniak people.

The latest verbal clashes between Trojka officials and coalition partners due to the growing ethnic imbalance to the detriment of Bosniaks, and the admission that the Agency for Public Administration of BiH has been blocking the announcement of competitions for filling Bosniak positions for months, while competitions for positions filled by Serbs and Croats are regularly conducted, is a cynical reaction to their own trade in which the ministerial positions of Trojka party leaders were paid for by handing over important positions.

6. The SDA Presidency fully supports the demands of pensioner associations and calls on the Government of FBiH to urgently provide the prerequisites for a significant increase in pensions and special programs for the protection of pensioners from inflation and rising prices.

In addition to the legal obligation for regular harmonization of pension increases, the Government of FBiH has not provided the prerequisites for an additional increase in pensions during its two-year mandate, thus halting their continuous growth from the mandate of the Government of Fadil Novalić.

7. The SDA Presidency considers that the new increase in electricity prices, which will take effect on September 1 and only for users of Elektroprivreda BiH, is a continuation of reaching into the pockets of FBiH citizens who are paying the price for the incompetence and inability of the Trojka management of this public company. Alongside the increase in electricity prices for citizens, the management of Elektroprivreda BiH is accumulating losses measured in hundreds of millions of KM.

While electricity prices for users of Elektroprivreda BiH, which covers territories predominantly inhabited by Bosniaks, will increase twice in one year, prices for users of Elektroprivreda HZHB will remain the same.

We demand that the Government of FBiH immediately dismiss the incompetent management of Elektroprivreda BiH, and appoint competent cadres to the new management who are capable of rectifying the consequences of poor management of this public company.

8. The SDA Presidency demands that the state institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina stop being silent in the face of Israeli crimes in Gaza, and that, in accordance with United Nations resolutions, which our country has supported, they take a clear stance on the aggression and support the cessation of genocide against the Palestinian people.

We demand that the Council of Ministers of BiH finally act on the decision of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH from November 2023 and pay one million KM for aid to the children of Gaza.