After the appointment of the Commission for issuing urban planning consent, necessary for the continuation of the Southern Gas Interconnection project, which HDZ Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) representatives opposed, there were not enough votes to adopt the agenda for the regular session. Both HDZ and the opposition abstained. All for their own reasons prevented the adoption on Monday of the Draft Law on Gas, as well as the long-awaited amendments to the Criminal Code of the Federation of BiH (FBiH).
Outvoting
With 67 votes in favor, one abstained and 15 against, members of the Commission for issuing urban planning consent regarding the Southern Gas Interconnection were appointed. HDZ was outvoted, and they consider the proposal unconstitutional, claiming it arrived after the deadline and that the only legitimate proposer should have been the Government of the FBiH. Coalition partners, however, see the situation differently.
“As Parliament, we received a proposal from the legally competent body that should delegate a working group, and we received that from the competent Ministry of Energy, Mining, and Industry, and we supported it,” says Damir Masic, SDP representative in the House of Representatives of FBiH.
The SDA believes that the cantons through which the gas pipeline will be built should have submitted proposals within 30 days of the law’s adoption, but they supported the appointment to speed up the process. They note that HDZ still has the House of Peoples, as well as the option of appealing to the Constitutional Court. But in “revenge” for the outvoting, they immediately refused to support the agenda. Among the 47 abstentions were DF and SDA, each for their own reasons. The Government’s Work Program and the proposal for veteran benefits were withdrawn from the agenda.
“We have complete inferiority of the Parliament of the FBiH in relation to the Government of FBiH. On today’s agenda, we had a proposal for the Government’s Work Program, which is a document we should have had at the beginning of the year. Last year, it wasn’t even in parliamentary procedure,” pointed out Mirsad Zaimovic on Monday, SDA representative in the House of Representatives of FBiH.
“We wanted the inclusion of a law on veteran allowance for members of the Army of the Republic of BiH (ARBiH) and Croatian Defence Council (HVO), but that was flatly rejected by Chairman Miokovic, and he didn’t do it in accordance with the Rules of Procedure, and that’s why we voted,” adds Mahir Mesalic, DF representative in the House of Representatives of FBiH.
The renewed outvoting of HDZ BiH in the emergency session, and the fact that they immediately did not support the agenda of the regular session, have revived doubts about the strength of the coalition at the federal level.
“There is a majority, it’s evident whenever the issue of appointments comes up, that’s when the majority clearly shows. I see this a bit as political games, a slap to the majority by HDZ because of the Commission or maybe the state-level… the issue of the Election Law. Who knows,” comments Admir Cavalic, SBiH representative in the House of Representatives of FBiH.
“I don’t see it as that dramatic. I’m sorry, I’ll say, for all the points on the agenda, but I’m especially sorry we missed the chance to adopt the Proposal of Amendments to the Criminal Code today,” says Dragan Miokovic on Monday, Speaker of the House of Representatives of FBiH (NS).
Disappointment: Politics vs. the femicide law
Representatives of the “We Will Not Die in Silence” campaign are particularly disappointed by these moves and the repeated postponement of the adoption of amendments to the Criminal Code. As they say, they had an understanding for numerous technical changes and necessary edits, but politicking on Monday especially disappointed them.
“We are not interested in politicking and politics, we are specifically interested in the issue of the law and introducing femicide as a separate criminal offense, and this has no justification or excuse from the representatives. We condemn this act. I can announce that if it is not adopted by the next session, a larger protest will be organized here in the capital because this is truly unacceptable,” says Nejra Rakovic, an activist.
“This is a disgrace for this government and essential problems are not being solved, while we deal with politics, politicking, ambushes, and deception. And our citizens need a new Criminal Code,” emphasizes Dennis Gratz, DF representative in the House of Representatives of FBiH.
Numerous laws—citizens left waiting…
From declaring Kiseljak a city to tightening penalties for gender-based violence, veteran benefits, adoption of the Draft Law on Gas, to the work programs for the current year of both the Government and Parliament – everything is postponed for another time. Once again, due to personal or party interests, the interests of citizens, that is, taxpayers of the FBiH – thanks to whom the representatives receive their salaries – have been neglected.
