CEC DECISION SHOULD BE HUNG ON A CAT'S TAIL, FORM A JOINT GOVERNMENT OF SERB PARTIES

BANJA LUKA, AUGUST 6 /SRNA/ – Member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts /SANU/ Kosta Čavoški says the decision of Central Election Commission /CEC/ to revoke presidential mandate of Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik should, in popular terms, be hung on a cat's tail and persist in forming a joint government of all Serb-oriented parties.

Čavoški told SRNA that decisions by the CEC, the illegitimate High Representative, and unconstitutional institutions of BiH, which are not in line with the Dayton Accords, should be fully disregarded. "The CEC decision to strip Dodik of his office should simply be ignored," Čavoški said. He stressed the SNSD’s proposal to form a joint government of Serb parties in Republika Srpska is good one that should include even the opposition. "If the opposition refuses to join, it means they care more about the interests of Christian Schmidt and the Bosniaks than about the interests of the Serb people. Right now, the Serb people is strongly inclined toward a unified government made up not only of Dodik's party and its coalition partners, but also at least one of the major opposition parties, such as the SDS. That's my proposal," Čavoški said. He stressed that Dodik should, in any case, remain in office as president and that externally imposed decisions harmful to Srpska should be ignored. The Central Election Commission of BiH today issued a decision terminating the presidential office of Milorad Dodik as President of Republika Srpska, who was elected in the 2022 general elections. The decision is subject to appeal. CEC's decision followed the ruling of the Appellate Division of the Court of BiH, which upheld an earlier first-instance judgment sentencing President Dodik to one year in prison and six years of a ban on political activity for "non-compliance with the decisions of Christian Schmidt".