Category Archives: Republika Srpska

Republika Srpska

Republika Srpska – New PM

The October 2010 presidential and legislative elections in the Republika Srpska have led to a change of PM.

The previous PM, Milorad Dodik from the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, was elected president at the election. In February 2011, he was replaced by Aleksandar Džombić from the same party.

The party breakdown in the legislature is here:

So, the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats does not have an overall majority. I do not have the composition of the cabinet.

The most recent controversy in the Republika Srpska has concerned the proposal to hold a de facto independence referendum. There was a threat that the High Representative in Bosnia would have annulled the referendum anyway. However, a positive vote would have put pressure on the Dayton Accords that currently govern Bosnia and its constituent parts. Anyway, President Dodik has now in effect cancelled the proposed referendum, saying that it is “not necessary”, Balkan Insight reports.

Republika Srpska – Presidential election

The Republika Srpska is officially recognized as one of the two entities that compose the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It has its own constitution, which is semi-presidential. A previous post provides an overview of the system there.

On Sunday, elections were held for all representative institutions in the Federation, including presidential and parliamentary elections in the Republika Srpska. The Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina has figures for the elections.

The presidential election was not a surprise. It was won by Milorad Dodik from the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats. He was previously the prime minister of the Republika Srpska. He is considered to be a nationalist candidate who supports the idea of a separate state for Republika Srpska and has proposed a referendum on the issue. He won 51.9% of the vote, beating Ognjen Tadić from the Coalition Together for Srpska. He was considered a more moderate figure and won 37.0%. The figures seem to be for the percentage of votes cast rather than valid votes cast.

I do not yet have the figures for the parliamentary election.

SP in disputed areas and other territories (5) – Republika Srpska

The Republika Srpska is officially recognized as one of the two entities that compose the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The constitution dates back to 1992, but it has been amended since. Like Serbia, and most of the constituent parts of the former Yugoslavia, it established a semi-presidential system.

Art. 83 establishes the direct election of the president, as well as the election of two vice-presidents.

Art. 93 establishes a prime minister, known as the president of the government.

Art. 94 states that the government is responsible to the National Assembly on the basis of votes of confidence and no-confidence. In addition, there are circumstances in which the president may dismiss the prime minister. So, the Republika Srpska is on the cusp of a president-parliamentary and premier-presidential form of semi-presidentialism.

The Republika Srpska was proclaimed in 1992. It was officially recognised in the Dayton Accords of 1995. The UN-appointed High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina has played a major role in the area since this time, including the dismissal of at least one president in the late 1990s.

Previous posts in this series:

Anjouan
Turkish Republic of North Cyprus
Palestinian National Authority
Nagorno-Karabakh