DODIK: I WILL REMAIN POLITICALLY VERY ACTIVE

HAN PIJESAK, OCTOBER 7 /SRNA/ – The President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik has stated today that he will remain politically very active.

“I will be the president for everyone who accepts me as such,” Dodik said, noting that he is accepted by Russia, Serbia, Belarus, and others. He added that, as president, he did not want to destabilize Republika Srpska and recalled that they initially did not want to go to elections, expecting others to follow that decision — but they did not. Then, he said, others expected to nominate their own candidate, while the SNSD and ruling coalition parties would not propose anyone, after which the Central Election Commission /CEC/ announced it would organize 40 polling stations in the Federation of BiH and declare who the president is. “We cannot allow that — instead, we said we would fight. That’s why we’re in this position now,” Dodik emphasized. He reminded that the opposition was offered a government of national unity, with the proposal for the prime minister to come from the opposition for one year, but they refused even to discuss it. Dodik noted that for the past five or six months, they had been calling on the opposition to work together, but now media outlets in Sarajevo are writing that, thanks to the opposition from Republika Srpska, the SDS and PDP, the idea of BiH has been preserved.