ĐOKIĆ: CEC UNDERMINES DEMOCRATIC ORDER

BANJA LUKA, DECEMBER 24 /SRNA/ – President of the Socialist Party /SP/ Petar Đokić said that the Central Election Commission /CEC/ of BiH, by annulling the snap elections for President of Republika Srpska at 136 polling stations in 17 municipalities and cities, is directly challenging the will of citizens and undermining the democratic order.

Đokić asked who had given them the right to annul the will of the people, noting that this was an act of political manipulation rather than lawful conduct, the SP said in a statement. "Instead of protecting the integrity of the electoral process, they are destroying it, creating distrust and destabilization. Such moves clearly show that the CEC is following orders from outside Republika Srpska, rather than listening to the voice of citizens who went to the polls," Đokić said. He assessed that such decisions and actions were nothing more than a farce, an attempt to weaken the authority of the institution of the President of Republika Srpska and to introduce confusion into the political system. "This is an open attack on the institution of the President, which is unacceptable and dangerous. When the authority of the President is undermined, the stability of Republika Srpska is also undermined," Đokić warned. He added that the CEC is turning into an instrument of destruction, rather than a body that should contribute to stability and the democratic process. "The question arises – what is actually going on with the CEC, and to whom are they accountable? Certainly not to the citizens of Republika Srpska and BiH, because their actions clearly show that they are following instructions from outside our institutions," Đokić said.