A referendum will be organized in Bosnian Republika Srpska at the end of September to allow citizens to decide whether to accept the verdict against Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, which ends his term as president of this semi-autonomous part of Bosnia, the Bosnian news site Kliks reported, quoted by BTA.
The announcement about the upcoming referendum was made today by Dodik at a press conference, at which Republika Srpska Prime Minister Radovan Višković announced his resignation.
Citizens of Republika Srpska will also be asked whether they accept the international community's top representative in Bosnia making decisions.
The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina decided to terminate Dodik's mandate a few days after an appeals court in early August upheld an earlier verdict, in which the pro-Russian Bosnian Serb leader was sentenced to one year in prison and banned from holding public office in Bosnia and Herzegovina for six years for failing to comply with the decisions of the international community's top representative in the country, Christian Schmidt.
„We seek respect and freedom, which will be achieved through a referendum. This is our message - return us to the Dayton Peace Agreement. "We will give our opinion in a referendum that will be held at the end of September," Dodik said, quoted by the Bosnian edition of Radio Free Europe.
Dodik's lawyers appealed the decision to the Central Election Commission, which forwarded the appeal to the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Today ends the three-day deadline within which the Appellate Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina must rule on the appeal.
The court's decision will be final and will determine whether Milorad Dodik remains in office or his mandate officially ends.
If the Appellate Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina rejects the appeal, the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina must call early elections for the president of Republika Srpska, which must be held within 90 days.
The mandate of the thus elected president of Republika Srpska will continue until general elections, which are due to be held in October next year.
The conviction of Milorad Dodik is unprecedented in Bosnia, which has been divided into two semi-autonomous parts since the end of the 1992-1995 interethnic war - Republika Srpska, home to mostly Bosnian Serbs, and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, populated mainly by Bosnian Muslims and 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, as defined by the Dayton Agreement that ended the war. The agreement also regulates the role of the high representative of the international community, who has broad powers, including to impose laws and dismiss officials.
Earlier this month, Dodik's lawyer filed a request with the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina to replace the one-year prison sentence with a fine, which in this case would amount to 36,500 convertible marks (18,700 euros) for the entire period.
The Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina does not contain a provision that explicitly allows or prohibits holding a referendum, but no lower level of government can schedule a referendum for only part of the country's territory that affects the jurisdiction and decisions of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Dodik, as well as his political allies in Republika Srpska, argue that the decision to revoke his mandate is illegal, citing provisions of the constitution of this semi-autonomous part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which state that the mandate of the Bosnian Serb president “shall be terminated before the end of the term for which he was elected, in the event of resignation or impeachment“.
Dodik, 66, known for his pro-Russian and nationalist positions, has held high-ranking government positions for almost 30 years. Over the past decade, he has advocated for the separation of Republika Srpska from Bosnia and Herzegovina and its unification with Serbia, Reuters notes.