Due to US sanctions: Opposition SDS cannot participate in elections, Dodik's SNSD can

(Patria) - The Serbian Democratic Party cannot participate in local elections. The reason - SDS does not have open bank accounts due to US sanctions. And without accounts, according to the Election Law, a party's participation in the election process cannot be certified, writes Istraga.ba.

“In accordance with the Instruction on deadlines and the order of electoral activities for the Local Elections 2024, which will be held on Sunday, October 06, 2024, the deadline for submitting applications for certification of participation in the elections for political parties and independent candidates expires on 05/24/2024 at 16:00.

We emphasize that the application for certification of a political party or independent candidate must, among other things, contain the account number of the political party or independent candidate for financing the election campaign, as well as a report on the turnover of the special account for financing election campaign costs, in accordance with Article 15.1d paragraph (1) of the Election Law of BiH (bank statements from the account or bank analytical card),” the Central Election Commission of BiH announced on Friday.

For a political party to be certified for participation in the elections, it must have an account.

“The application for certification of a political party or independent candidate consists of a list containing the first and last name, original signature, ID card number, and unique personal identification number of each voter registered in the Central Voter Register that supports the application of the political party or independent candidate. The application contains the account number for financing the election campaign,” it is stated in Article 4.4 of the Election Law of BiH.

The Serbian Democratic Party has not had any bank account since March this year. Namely, according to capital.ba from March 29 of this year, the only account of the Serbian Democratic Party through which this party operated was closed due to sanctions.

The reason for closing SDS's account are the sanctions imposed by the United States of America. Namely, SDS is the only political party on the blacklist of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). This party has been under sanctions for more than two decades and had an account in only one bank in Republika Srpska.

At the beginning of this year, the US authorities pressured banks in BiH to close accounts of all individuals under sanctions by that country. The primary target of the US was SNSD cadres led by Milorad Dodik. However, this pressure is now actually causing more damage to the opposition than to Dodik's SNSD. Because Milorad Dodik's SNSD is not under US sanctions and this political party has open accounts in banks. Thanks to this, Dodik's SNSD can participate in the elections, while the opposition SDS cannot.

According to Istraga.ba's information, SDS is considering the possibility of re-registering the political party. However, everything would have to be completed by next Friday. Even if they succeed, SDS will be left without members of polling station committees, because, according to the amendments to the Election Law of BiH recently imposed by the OHR, only political entities that have their representatives in councils or assemblies have the right to polling station committees. If the party's name were to change, it would be a new political entity, and SDS would also be left without polling station committees.