Representatives of the opposition parties in the Republika Srpska will meet next week to discuss the political situation that has arisen following the final verdict against President Milorad Dodik, whose mandate was revoked by the Central Election Commission (CEC) of BiH.
This was stated by the acting president of the Serbian Democratic Party Jovica Radulović for Fena, who claims that it is still too early to talk about a possible joint candidate for the president of the RS in the early elections.
“If the CEC of BiH calls early elections, then the SDS will first take a party position, and then we will see what happens,” Radulović says.
His personal position is that, if early elections are called, the opposition should have a joint candidate.
“There will probably be different opinions, even within the SDS itself,” Radulović adds.
The president of the People’s Front Jelena Trivić tells Fena that she expects the SDS to be the rallying point for the opposition, and confirms that there will be a meeting next week.
She says she is aware that the public is most interested in the candidate for the president of the RS, but believes that there are still a few steps to take before that.
“First of all, the CEC needs to call elections, and we in the opposition need to see if we will take a common position on current issues such as the verdict against the president of the RS and the announced session of the National Assembly of the RS on the referendum,” she adds.
The People’s Front, as she points out, is against the referendum because it believes that nothing will change.
“We will see the position of other opposition representatives on this issue,” Trivić emphasizes.
When it comes to the candidate for the president of the RS if early elections are held, she points out that the People’s Front is against the proposal of the president of the PDP, Draško Stanivuković, who proposed that there be one candidate who would be supported by all parliamentary parties in the RS.
“We believe that the opposition should have its own candidate,” she concludes.
The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina has made a decision to terminate the mandate of the president of the RS, Milorad Dodik. The decision was made on August 6 after the Appellate Division of the Court of BiH upheld the first-instance verdict sentencing Dodik to one year in prison and a six-year ban on holding public office.
Dodik’s lawyer filed an appeal with the Appellate Division of the Court of BiH.
If the Appellate Division of the Court of BiH upholds the CEC’s decision, the elections for the president of the RS, according to the Election Law of BiH, should be held within 90 days.
The head of the parliamentary group of the Party of Democratic Progress, Igor Crnadak, stated last week that early elections for the president of the RS will most likely be held in mid-October.
He believes that the opposition should bury the hatchet and have a common candidate.
“Everything else in a system in which there is no second round is meaningless,” said Crnadak.
In addition to the SDS, PDP and NF, the opposition in the RS is also represented by the Justice and Order List, and the Independent Movement “In My Own Way” by Igor Radojičić.
