DODIK: WE ARE ENTERING A WEEK IN WHICH WE WILL MAKE IMPORTANT DECISIONS

BANJA LUKA, AUGUST 17 /SRNA/ - Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik stated today that Republika Srpska is entering a week in which it will make important decisions, the main goal of which is to block any possibility of holding an illegitimate presidential election in Republika Srpska.

"The people here have already completed the elections, and it was precisely the Central Election Commission /CEC/ of BiH that confirmed them, the same body that now wants to revoke the mandate," Dodik said, adding that the starting point for the upcoming political struggle is that the provisions of a CEC decision undermine the Constitution of Republika Srpska. Dodik emphasized that the Constitution clearly stipulates that the mandate of the president of Republika Srpska can be terminated in only two cases - resignation or recall - and reiterated that the SNSD will not participate in illegitimate elections, which will not take place. "The National Assembly will decide that no elections will be held in Republika Srpska. They will be prevented. No public building, school, or cultural center will be allowed to be used for elections. Anyone participating in electoral boards will bear criminal responsibility for violating the constitutional order," Dodik told RTRS. He added that it will become clear whose will is dominant in Republika Srpska - the will of an unelected foreigner and Muslims from Sarajevo, or the will of the people expressed through elections or a referendum. According to him, the planned referendum is meant to answer the question of whether the people support an illegitimate foreigner violating the constitutional order of Republika Srpska and an extra-constitutional court making decisions that could remove democratically elected representatives from office. "We expect a big 'NO' in the referendum. In a formal legal sense, the referendum will not resolve the issue of the ruling, as it will be ignored, but, based on this disregard for the will of the people, we will create new political conditions and proceed to a second referendum," Dodik said, calling on citizens to turn out in large numbers for the vote. Dodik noted that the second referendum will be based on the fact that the will of the people is not being respected, that the Serb people are being treated as insignificant, and that foreigners want to impose their will and destroy Republika Srpska. "The second referendum entails affirming our right to self-determination, and it will be crucial," Dodik emphasized. He added that he has decided to remain steadfast in defending Republika Srpska until the very end. "This political persecution of me and Republika Srpska will not end the way political Sarajevo hopes," Dodik said.