KOŠARAC REJECTS KONAKOVIĆ'S ELECTION ALLEGATIONS AS GROUNDLESS

SARAJEVO, DECEMBER 16 /SRNA/ – The Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations in the Council of Ministers Staša Košarac has said today that no one other than the people of Republika Srpska will choose the President of Republika Srpska, warning that a serious attack on democracy is underway in Srpska and BiH.

Stressing that these elections cannot be described as a celebration of democracy because they were imposed, Košarac said that no one, let alone Foreign Minister in the Council of Ministers Elmedin Konaković, has the right to claim that the elections were stolen. He described Konaković’s claim as “a classic, unfounded absurdity, deliberately colored by the hand of Christian Schmidt.” "He is accepting the narrative that something was stolen in Republika Srpska. That is shameful," Košarac stated after a session of the Council of Ministers, adding that Konaković had presented no evidence whatsoever to support such a claim. Pointing to numerous attempts to contaminate the electoral process in Srpska, Košarac said that the illegally appointed Central Election Commission of BiH is also accepting Schmidt’s narratives and tasks, issuing orders to repeat certain procedures at individual polling stations even though there were no complaints from polling board members or political parties at those locations. "This shows a desire for someone else to choose the President of Republika Srpska. That scenario will not play out, no matter how much someone believes they have authority or a fabricated role in BiH. This is a serious attack on democracy in Republika Srpska and BiH," stressed Košarac, also a member of the SNSD Presidency. He told Konaković that it would be better for him to focus on party activities in the Federation of BiH, noting that in the next elections he would be at the level of SNSD’s current position in that entity.