What Could Happen Tomorrow in the Parliament of BiH: Adoption of European Laws and the Dismissal of Nešić with the Help of the Opposition, or Nothing at All?

Written by: Amra Vrabac

Tomorrow's sessions of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH will show whether the coalition at the state level, consisting of the troika parties (SDP, NIP, NS), HDZ BiH and SNSD with partners, still exists or if new winds have started to blow.

First, an emergency session of this house will be held, where two laws from the package of so-called European laws will be considered - the Law on Border Control and the Law on Personal Data Protection.

Although the Council of Ministers of BiH adopted these two laws on December 17, last week there was no readiness from SNSD to support these laws, as stated at the extended Collegium, and the session was postponed to January 23 at the initiative of the House Speaker Denis Zvizdić without explanation.

There is still no official stance from SNSD regarding tomorrow's session and the vote on these laws, while they are simultaneously monitoring the activities of the opposition from RS, which has five representatives in this house. However, the opposition is also not yet sure what position it will take at the emergency session.

Today, representatives of SDS, PDP, and the List for Justice and Order held a working-consultative meeting in East Sarajevo. They will decide how to position themselves at tomorrow's sessions and how to vote after tomorrow's decisions of the Collegium and consultations.

"In any case, our stance is a serious political positioning in the interest of Republika Srpska," said SDS President Milan Miličević.

The further development of the situation at the regular session, i.e., whether the dismissal of the arrested Minister of Security of BiH Nenad Nešić will be placed on the agenda tomorrow, will depend on what happens at the emergency session.

It has been confirmed from three opposition parties from RS that they will support the dismissal of ministers from the Council of Ministers of BiH, because they believe that none of them are working in the interest of Republika Srpska.

While the sessions of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH are ongoing, a hearing will be held at the Court of BiH on the proposal of the Prosecutor's Office of BiH to extend Nešić's custody for another two months. He and the other arrested individuals are charged with criminal offenses of association for the purpose of committing criminal acts, money laundering, abuse of official position or authority, and accepting bribes. Nešić, as the director of Putevi RS, took a portion of the money from awarded tenders to Romanijaputevi, which was left for him on several occasions at various locations. It is suspected that he thus acquired nearly one million marks.

At the last hearing, the acting prosecutor Bojana Jolović announced that she would conduct a financial investigation into the flow of money in favor of Nenad Nešić. More details will certainly be known at the hearing itself.

Nešić is still listed as the Minister of Security of BiH, and although he was arrested on December 26, he submitted certificates that he is on sick leave. A one-month custody was ordered for him on December 28.

The request for Nešić's dismissal was signed by 27 representatives at the initiative of the opposition from RS. All representatives joined the request except for HDZ BiH, SNSD, United Srpska, and Demos.

If Nešić's dismissal is placed on the agenda of tomorrow's regular session and ultimately voted through in the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, the dismissal must also be confirmed in the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, where HDZ and SNSD have the possibility of breaking the quorum. It is enough for their delegates not to appear at the session, and it will not be able to be held because they each have three delegates.

What is even stranger in the entire situation is that the Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers of BiH, Borjana Krišto, has not initiated Nešić's dismissal. On the other hand, HDZ benefits from a longer delay because the Ministry of Security is managed by Ivica Bošnjak (HDZ BiH). And knowing all the competencies of this Ministry and the processes that follow with the appointment of the director and deputy director of SIPA, it is clear why Nešić's dismissal is being prolonged.

The question is also who should propose the name of the new Minister of Security, whether a certain faction within SNSD or the parties gathered around SNSD.

The Nešić case will get its epilogue tomorrow either in the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH or at the Court of BiH.

Requests for the dismissal of Konaković and Radmanović

SNSD has initiated the dismissal of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of BiH, Elmedin Konaković, and Sabina Ćudić has initiated the dismissal of the member of the Collegium of the House, Nebojša Radmanović (SNSD).

However, the question is whether these two initiatives will even be placed on the agenda of the regular session.