CVIJANOVIĆ: GRAVE VIOLATIONS OF BiH CONSTITUTIONAL SYSTEM

BANJA LUKA, APRIL 30, 2026 /SRNA/ – The Serb member of the BiH Presidency Željka Cvijanović pointed to serious abuses of the constitutional system of BiH that, as she said, lead to significant consequences, stressing that her priority duty is the protection of the interests of Republika Srpska.

Cvijanović said that Republika Srpska institutions are doing their job, while at the level of BiH institutions there are ongoing rearrangements or escalation of tensions and topics that, in her view, are not real issues. "BiH institutions suffer from the same ailments, which are only more pronounced during election campaigns, but their overall activity could be analyzed in different ways", Cvijanović said for ATV. She noted that such analysis would show major delays, disagreements, exchanges of accusations, impositions and competition between different political agendas. "You could conclude that they are more in a state of blockage than activity, unlike the institutions of Republika Srpska", Cvijanović said in a statement to ATV. She explained that conflict in the Presidency of BiH does not necessarily depend on whether it is an election year or campaign period, but emphasized that it is important that protection mechanisms exist in cases of outvoting, with even stronger protection in the field of defense where decisions must be made by consensus. Regarding alleged abuses, she stated that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Council of Ministers bypasses the Presidency of BiH when it knows it cannot obtain a position it would prefer. "These are serious abuses that in a normal country would be expected to be addressed", Cvijanović said. She pointed out that a number of diplomats from the Bosniak community act independently or in coordination with only one member of the Presidency, or make arrangements with the Foreign Ministry while bypassing the Presidency, although it falls under its jurisdiction. "These serious abuses of the system lead to serious consequences, and for that reason we do not have any communication or normal relations in which matters of general interest could be delegated", Cvijanović explained. Referring to the role of foreign actors and their involvement in BiH over the past 30 years, as well as what she described as serious abuse of the Dayton Peace Accords through the position of high representatives and Christian Schmidt, who claims that position, Cvijanović said the situation amounts to chaos and makes functioning difficult. Cvijanović underlined that her home is Republika Srpska and that she is obliged to the citizens and institutions of Republika Srpska. She explained that she coordinates, cooperates and defines issues in line with the Constitutionally granted mechanisms. "You must maintain a functional link with the institutions of Republika Srpska, while ensuring that the priority task is the protection of the interests of Republika Srpska", Cvijanović concluded.