The Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina will consider tomorrow, at an extraordinary telephone session, a request for approval to open polling stations on the territory of BiH for voting in Serbia’s parliamentary elections. However, BiH Foreign Minister Elmedin Konaković has stated that the proposal will not receive support from ministers representing the Bosniak people.
Konaković told Fena that the session had been scheduled in an “unusual manner,” after Staša Košarac, Deputy Chair of the Council of Ministers, asked Chairwoman Borjana Krišto to propose consideration of materials falling under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of BiH.
The request for approval to allow Serbian citizens to vote is the only item on the session’s agenda, which has been scheduled for 9:00 a.m., the office of the Deputy Chair told Srna.
Košarac expects the Council of Ministers to support the request, which would create the conditions for Serbian citizens to vote on the territory of BiH in the parliamentary elections scheduled for October 25, Euronews BiH reports.
Konaković stated that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had prepared the necessary documentation, but that he had asked representatives of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) to first allow around ten items within the ministry’s jurisdiction to be considered, which, according to him, have been blocked for months.
These issues include the purchase of premises for the diplomatic and consular network, for which budget funds have been secured and the necessary procedures completed; the appointment of attachés in certain European countries; and the determination of the pay base for employees at BiH diplomatic and consular missions.
Konaković claims that SNSD representatives are blocking these issues for political reasons, including the appointments of attachés in Germany and the Netherlands, as well as a military attaché.
According to him, a proposal was made to unblock these issues and allow Serbian citizens to vote in BiH at the same time, but SNSD representatives did not accept this approach.
“Tomorrow, this item will not have the support of the Bosniak ministers and cannot pass,” Konaković declared.
He warned that organizing voting without the approval of the competent BiH institutions could lead to measures against staff at the Serbian Embassy.
“If Serbia should happen to decide to organize elections without the permission of the Council of Ministers or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I have informed the Serbian authorities that, within the scope of my authority, we will send the people from the embassy home—all those who engage in this before the elections,” Konaković stated.
He added that he would insist on compliance with BiH laws and prescribed procedures, expressing surprise that the issue of voting had been placed on the session’s agenda even though, he claims, it had been known in advance that the proposal would not receive the necessary support.
On September 28, the Embassy of Serbia in BiH submitted a diplomatic note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of BiH, informing the relevant institutions that parliamentary elections would be held in Serbia on October 25 and requesting that polling stations be opened on the territory of BiH.
The justification accompanying the request states that granting approval would confirm reciprocity by allowing citizens of BiH to vote on the territory of Serbia.
Last week, Košarac requested an extraordinary session of the Council of Ministers, and he had previously accused Konaković of obstructing Serbian citizens’ exercise of their right to vote.
He stated that he would not abandon his demand that Serbian citizens be allowed to vote in BiH on October 25 and warned that Republika Srpska would respond accordingly if the issue remained unresolved.
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Source: Euronews Foto: ATAImages
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