Schmidt's April 2023 Amendments to the FBiH Constitution Enter into Force

(Patria) - High Representative Christian Schmidt imposed an amendment to the FBiH Constitution on April 27, 2023, changing the procedure for appointing the new FBiH Government.

Schmidt then gave the FBiH Parliament until May 1, 2024, to amend the FBiH Constitution regulating this issue itself. As this did not happen, Schmidt's amendments to the FBiH Constitution entered into force today, writes Faktor.ba.

At the end of April, Schmidt called on the main political actors to keep this deadline in mind, but the leaderships of the House of Representatives and the House of Peoples of the FBiH Parliament did not react, meaning the working bodies that were supposed to propose better amendments to the FBiH Constitution than Schmidt's.

Only the majority of delegates in the Bosniak Caucus in the House of Peoples of the FBiH Parliament reacted, proposing an amendment to the FBiH Constitution on April 12 this year. However, the parliamentary majority in both houses ignored the proposal.

The amendments to the FBiH Constitution, which entered into force today, allow the President of FBiH, after consultations with the members of the parliamentary leadership, the presidents of the party caucuses, and the Vice-Presidents of FBiH, to appoint a candidate for Prime Minister.

The appointment of the FBiH Government still requires the consent of both Vice-Presidents. This process must be completed within 30 days after the President and Vice-Presidents of FBiH are indirectly elected in the FBiH Parliament.

If one or two Vice-Presidents do not agree with the candidate for Prime Minister, this deadline is extended by an additional 30 days. After that, the President of FBiH can appoint a new government with the signature of only one Vice-President and propose its confirmation to the FBiH Parliament.

Confirmation of the new government requires a majority of votes in the House of Representatives, and then a majority in the House of Peoples, with the High Representative stipulating that the condition is that three-fifths (14) or more delegates in one or more of the constituent peoples' caucuses do not vote against it.

If the new government is still not confirmed, the process is repeated.
If Parliament fails to confirm the new federal government in the new round, which lasts 30 days, both the FBiH Parliament and the assemblies of all ten cantons are dissolved, and new early elections are called.