The joint session of both houses of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (PABiH) operates in a way that applies the rules of procedure of both the House of Representatives and the House of Peoples of the PABiH, stated the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the PABiH, Marinko Cavara (HDZ BiH), after SNSD representatives in the House of Representatives of the PABiH and delegates in the House of Peoples of the PABiH withdrew from the joint session yesterday, thereby collapsing the quorum for its continuation.
Special joint session of both houses of the PABiH interrupted due to a lack of quorum
Cavara emphasized that the joint session is not some third body but a joint session of the two houses, adding that the quorum is clearly defined in the Constitution of BiH.
“I regret that we are in this situation in general, and instead of discussing the European path, the laws on the European path, and fulfilling obligations in terms of two laws and the appointment of negotiators, we are now discussing majorities, the possibility of holding sessions, and so on, and I regret that we have come to this situation. The only way out of this situation is dialogue between all those who can make progress in the work of the PABiH, as well as the Council of Ministers of BiH,” Cavara said in a statement to the media.
This was, as assessed by Milan Dunovic (DF) yesterday, a member of the PABiH, a demonstration of the ruling majority’s impotence. He pointed out that the rules of procedure stipulate at least one joint session per year.
“In 2025, today we have the first joint session, so in previous years, this is the first thing that happened in their demonstration of impotence. The second problem is that some members of the ruling majority decided to embark on something for which they do not know the procedures,” Dunovic said yesterday.
He added that the procedures for changes, i.e., the reconstruction of the Council of Ministers, are prescribed and that it has been seen that representatives of the Coalition of the Three were announcing a reconstruction, yet there is none.
“We knew – those who read the rules of procedure and the Constitution of BiH and what follows – that this is a blockade in the House of Peoples. SNSD today brutally demonstrated what it means to break the quorum, and that at a joint session where only representative and delegate questions are posed,” Dunovic said yesterday.
PABiH delegate Serif Spago (SDA) stated that SNSD yesterday sent a message to its coalition partners from the Coalition of the Three and HDZ about what it thinks of all these developments over the past 15 days, and at such a session where no decisions are made, it blocked the work of the PABiH, i.e., the joint session of both houses of the PABiH.
“Also, it was an opportunity for us representatives to see some ministers for the first time in the PABiH since their appointment, exactly two years after the appointment of the Council of Ministers. As an opposition party, we fear that we have entered a phase of blockades and that everything that was announced regarding our European path and some other issues will certainly be stalled. We have practically been at a standstill since March 2024, meaning we have had almost a year without passing any laws, or any decisions related to our European path. Unfortunately, we do not even have the budget for the institutions of BiH for 2025,” added Spago.
It should be mentioned that the special joint session of both houses of the PABiH on the topic “Representatives/delegates ask – the Council of Ministers of BiH answers” was interrupted due to a lack of quorum in the House of Peoples of the PABiH.
Representatives and delegates of SNSD in the House of Representatives of the PABiH and the House of Peoples of the PABiH withdrew from the joint session of both houses of the PABiH and collapsed the quorum for its continuation.
