The National Assembly of the Bosnian Republika Srpska elected a new government last night, with Savo Minič as the new prime minister, Bosnian national television BHRT reported, BTA reported.
The current Minister of Health, Savo Minič, was proposed as prime minister of Republika Srpska by ousted President Milorad Dodik.
Dodik, who has been the leading politician in Republika Srpska since 2006 and has advocated its secession from Bosnia, was sentenced in February to one year in prison and a six-year ban on holding public office for failing to comply with the decisions of the international community's high representative, who monitors compliance with the Dayton Peace Agreement, which ended the war in the Balkan country 30 years ago.
After the verdict came into effect effective, on 6 August the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Bosnia and Herzegovina terminated the mandate of Dodik, who was elected in the 2022 general elections.
The CEC decided to hold early elections for the President of Republika Srpska on 23 November, and Dodik scheduled a referendum on his conviction and removal from office for 25 October.
The opposition MPs did not attend the vote in the parliament in Banja Luka last night. Of the 55 MPs present, 50 voted, with one voting against and one abstaining.
Zoran Stevanović was appointed Minister of Transport, and Borivoj Golubović was appointed Minister of Education and Culture. Andjelka Kuzmić will be Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water, and Goran Selak will be Minister of Justice.
Zora Vidović will once again be Minister of Finance. Petar Đokić also remains in his old posts as Minister of Energy and Mining, Alen Šeranić as Minister of Health and Social Protection, and Selma Čabrić as Minister of Family, Youth and Sports.
Siniša Karan was appointed Minister of Scientific and Technological Development and Higher Education, Daniel Egić as Minister of Labor, Bojan Vipotnik as Minister of Spatial Planning, Construction and Ecology, and Senka Juić as Minister of Governance and Local Self-Government. Denis Šulić was appointed to the same post as Minister of Trade and Tourism.
Voin Mitrović also remains in the same post as Minister of Economy and Entrepreneurship, as well as Zlatan Klokić as Minister of European Integration and International Cooperation.
According to the terms of the Dayton Peace Agreement, which ended the interethnic war in Bosnia (1992-1995), the country is divided into two semi-autonomous parts – Republika Srpska, populated mainly by Bosnian Serbs, and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (a Muslim-Croat federation), inhabited by Bosnian Muslims (Bosniaks) and Bosnian Croats. Each part has its own government, parliament, and police, but the two are linked by common state-level institutions, including a judiciary, army, security services, and tax administration. The Dayton Agreement also established the role of the High Representative of the international community, who has broad powers, including the power to impose laws and dismiss officials.