The President of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska (NARS), Nenad Stevandic, said that at yesterday’s meeting in Banja Luka with representatives of political parties from RS regarding the text of the new entity constitution, there was no voting or agreement, but rather, as he stated, the procedures were presented.
Stevandic said that consultations are necessary to adopt a new constitution, that this is done in the NARS, and that the procedure is carried out by the parliamentary constitutional affairs committee and public discussion.
He explained that he informed those present that the procedure is such that at the first session, a decision is made on changes or on the new constitution, immediately after that, Stevandic stated, a second session follows in which the draft of the new constitution is adopted, then comes the public discussion, and after that, the third session is held at which the constitution will be amended or a new constitution will be adopted.
Stevandic said that a simple majority is required at the first and second sessions, while the new constitution is adopted by a two-thirds majority, or 56 deputies, or 55 according to the new interpretation.
“I informed my colleagues about that, gave them all copies of previous constitutions, and said that we should have some new telephone consultation,” said Stevandic.
He added that he understands differently the representatives of political parties who did not attend, but stated that SDS, in its statement, left “the door open” for participation in work on the new constitution.
The meeting on the new entity constitution was attended by the Prime Minister of RS Radovan Viskovic, the Secretary General of the President of RS Jelena Pajic Bastinac, and the Secretary General of the Government Dalibor Panic, as well as the presidents of the NPS Darko Banjac, DEMOS Nedeljko Cubrilovic, SP Petar Djokic, SPS Goran Selak, Predrag Nesic on behalf of DNS, and from the opposition the president of PDP Drasko Stanivukovic. Other representatives of the opposition did not attend the meeting.
The President of RS, Milorad Dodik, earlier stated that the new constitution would prescribe, as he said, the exact constitutional position of RS, stating that “everything that was imposed will no longer be possible.”
The political temperature in BiH, but also within RS itself, was further raised by the announcement of the adoption of the new RS constitution, which, as Dodik announced, would return all competencies transferred to the state level.
This would mean, as he said, the abolition of the Council of Peoples of RS, the institution responsible for vital national interests, those related to the constituent status of peoples.
