Trojka fears losing majority in KS, HDZ insists their candidate be immediately appointed to the BiH Constitutional Court

By: Istraga.ba

Until the publication of this text, Mladen Bošković (HDZ) has not scheduled a session of the Commission for Elections and Appointments of the House of Representatives of the Federation. And without the prior opinion of the Commission, federal representatives cannot appoint Marin Vukoja (HDZ) as a judge of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday.

"I hope," said the president of Our Party, Edin Forto, in a statement to N1, "that the appointment of a judge of the BiH Constitutional Court will also be on the agenda of the session of the House of Representatives of the FBiH on Thursday."

That issue, Forto explained, is not a stumbling block in the coalition at all.

Čović's HDZ, we remind you, insists that Vukoja be appointed as a judge. Konaković's NiP fully supports HDZ's position. A larger part of the SDP, gathered around the president, sees nothing wrong with Vukoja's appointment. And Our Party representative Dragan Mioković has already announced that he is ready to swallow that frog too.

But why hasn't Vukoja been appointed yet? The reason is Arnel Isak, or rather Edina Gabela.

At the last meeting of the ruling coalition, held on Monday at SDP BiH, the partners from Trojka, according to Istraga's information, did not reach an agreement on the appointment of Arnel Isak, son of the federal Minister of Internal Affairs, Ramo Isak, as deputy speaker of the House of Representatives of the FBiH. Our Party, in an attempt to trick Ramo Isak, promised Arnel Isak's appointment in September, in exchange for him and his partners from PDA and independent representatives supporting the appointment of Marin Vukoja as a judge of the Constitutional Court of BiH. However, Arnel Isak insists that his appointment be at the same session as Vukoja's appointment.

Our Party, SDP, and NiP would, according to Istraga's information, agree to that appointment. But Arnel Isak's appointment means the dismissal of Edina Gabela from that position. Gabela is a member of the Party of BiH, which is part of the ruling coalition at the Canton Sarajevo level. If Gabela were dismissed at the federal level, Trojka could lose its majority in Canton Sarajevo.

Namely, after public clashes over the recently held Pride Parade, Our Party cantonal representative Redžo Lamezan is getting closer to leaving NS. He was even abstained during the session of the KS Assembly on Monday when voting on several points important for the current government in the Canton. However, those points passed thanks to the votes of the Party of BiH. Therefore, if SBiH withdraws its support in Canton Sarajevo, Trojka could lose its majority. And the positions of SBiH would certainly be influenced by the eventual dismissal of Edina Gabela from the position of deputy speaker of the House of Representatives of the FBiH and the appointment of Arnel Isak.

Trojka plans to compensate for Lamezan's and SBiH's potential absence with the vote of cantonal representative Damir Marjanović, which could be decisive. However, in that case, the vote of SDP cantonal representative Irfan Čengić, who has openly stated that he is against the appointment of Marin Vukoja as a judge of the Constitutional Court of BiH, is not certain. Therefore, the postponement of Isak's appointment was requested, as Nermin Nikšić counts that by autumn Irfan Čengić might leave the Canton Sarajevo Assembly and become the mayor of the Old Town Municipality, if the recall of the detained mayor Ibrahim Hadžibajrić is successful. Čengić, as Istraga learns, has already opposed the expulsion of SBiH from the government in Canton Sarajevo.

Let's return to the appointment of Marin Vukoja as a judge of the Constitutional Court of BiH. The procedure stipulates that the Commission for Elections and Appointments of the House of Representatives of the FBiH sends a list of candidates to the House of Representatives. The Commission has 11 members. The President of the Commission is Mladen Bošković from HDZ BiH. The Vice-President is Damir Mašić from SDP BiH. Commission members are Antonio Sesar and Feliks Vidović from HDZ BiH, Aner Žuljević from SDP, Dragan Mioković from Our Party, Rasim Smajlović from NiP, Edina Gabela from SBiH, Eldan Čomor from SDA, and Dajana Čolić from DF.

HDZ BiH insists that only Marin Vukoja's name be submitted to the federal representatives. This position is also supported by NiP representative Rasim Smajlović, while Dragan Mioković, the NS member of the Commission, has already expressed readiness to "swallow the frog". The two SDP members of the Commission, Aner Žuljević and Damir Mašić, will play a decisive role. If they decide that the complete list, with all qualified candidates, is submitted to the House of Representatives, there is a possibility that Marin Vukoja will not be elected as a judge of the Constitutional Court of BiH.

Therefore, HDZ BiH does not want to take risks. It demands from Trojka that the Commission submit only one name to the House of Representatives. And Smajlović from NiP and Mioković from Our Party have no objections to HDZ's proposal for now.