How and when to form the government in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is the most important question after the 2022 General Elections. And while the election battle for the opposition in Republika Srpska (RS) is still going on, most parties have long been thinking or secretly talking with possible partners. Although few political leaders give specific forecasts, here are the current political combinations.
Political calculations have been going on for a long time, but behind closed doors. Coalition crossword puzzles are being completed, but no one is giving concrete solutions yet. While some are dealing with election results, others are looking for partners for a stable majority, good old or new partners. Could one of the solutions be a new program coalition at the federal and state level?
”SNSD and its coalition partners will be a very important factor in the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH (PABiH). If we add HDZ to that, it will also have, if nothing else, a dominant role in the House of Peoples of the Federation of BiH (FBiH) and BiH, so it is inevitable that the strongest pro-Bosniak political parties SDA, SDP, DF will also form a solid coalition,” Adil Osmanovic stated, vice president of SDA.
”It does not occur to the SDP to lie and betray our political parties and those who stood together and presented Denis Becirovic. In order for there to be collation, a decision must be made by the party’s organs, but that is not an option at all. I did inform the presidency, but that is not an option,” Nermin Niksic said, president of SDP BiH.
”When communicating with people, people say: Don’t do that. Okay, we won’t do that, in Sarajevo we won’t do that,” Zeljko Komsic, president of DF, stated.
While it is a desirable or undesirable partner for DF depending on the level of SDA, Komsic claims that he does not want to negotiate with NIP either. HDZ BiH is the loudest in claiming that they do not want to work with DF. Apart from knowing who they will not work with, they are also calculating names for decisive positions. There are announcements that Lidija Bradara could be the candidate for the president of the FBiH, and Borjana Kristo will be the head of the Council of Ministers of BiH. What is known is those good old partners are not forgotten either.
”HDZ and HNS primarily advocate that we seek legitimate representatives of both Bosniaks and Serbs,” Marinko Cavara emphasized, vice-president of HDZ BiH.
”What has been agreed so far is that we will follow up with HDZ. Covic and I have that agreement, and we will define our policy before we talk to our Muslim partners,” Milorad Dodik, president of SNSD pointed out.
The majority gathered around the Trojka or the parties that supported Denis Becirovic and remained with that program coalition. NiP is loud when it comes to those with whom they do not want, namely SDA and DF. The Party for BiH and NES will perform together. Our party is of the opinion that there are conditions for a government made up of the Trojka, the opposition from RS – SDS, PDP, Vukanovic, and HDZ as an inevitability. However, the opposition parties from RS have a clear position – they are not thinking about forming a coalition.
”We don’t think about it at all and I can’t understand that anyone is thinking about electoral combinations and math based on electoral corruption and theft,” Branislav Borenovic said, PDP president.
”That they will try to ensure their existence through politics, we can see that from the smaller parties that are trying in every way to get into power and secure some seats for themselves,” Mladen Bubonjic, communication specialist, pointed out.
And the fight for the seats has begun in earnest. Official meetings and negotiations of political leaders are also expected. This time, perhaps, the most important role of the houses of the people. Perhaps the distribution of those seats will be a reflection of the final coalitions at the federal and state level.
