SNSD breaks quorum for today's joint session of both houses of the BiH PA and the Council of Ministers of BiH

(Patria) - Shortly after 11 AM, the first joint session of both houses of the BiH PA and the Council of Ministers of BiH, in this composition of the Council of Ministers, began with the intonation of the state anthem.

The Speaker of the House of Peoples of the BiH PA, Dragan Čović, read out a notice submitted by the SNSD Caucus of the House of Representatives of the BiH PA stating that they would not attend today's session because the conditions were not met, as there is no member from the Serb people in the Collegium.

"This is not a boycott, but respect for the Constitution of BiH," stated the representatives of SNSD and its partners.

He said that 15 delegates and 27 representatives were attending the session.

Then, Nikola Špirić, a member of the Collegium of the House of Peoples of the BiH PA, took the floor, stating that the House of Representatives of the BiH PA, by forming a new majority at the 25th working session, had removed Nebojša Radmanović from the Collegium of the House, thereby acting outside the Constitution of BiH.

"The Constitution clearly defines when each house is considered constituted. In the meantime, some things have happened to undermine the electoral will of the Serb people. The creation of a new majority, which has been in the works for a long period with the opposition from Republika Srpska. If there is a quorum for further work, we wish you luck," said Špirić, whose address caused dissatisfaction in the hall.

After the departure of the SNSD delegates, who have three delegates in the Club of Serbs, the quorum for today's session of the House of Peoples was broken.

The Speaker of the House of Peoples of the BiH PA, Dragan Čović, announced a half-hour break to try to resolve the newly created situation.

However, one should not forget the fact that Milorad Dodik's trial is taking place at the Court of BiH today, so the representatives and delegates will likely head to the Court to show support for the President of Republika Srpska, who is being tried for non-compliance with the decisions of the High Representative.

After the break, Čović stated that they had consulted the rules of procedure of both houses, and that there were no conditions for holding the session.