RIK OPERATING NORMALLY, NO OBSTACLES TO REFERENDUM

BILEĆA, August 12 /SRNA/ - The Republika Srpska Election Commission /RIK/ is operating normally, and therefore there are no obstacles to holding the upcoming referendum on the mandate of the legitimate President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik, said Ilija Tamindžija, Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Elections and Appointments.

Tamindžija announced that RIK could meet as early as today or tomorrow, after it was confirmed on Friday, August 8, that this commission exists and was appointed in accordance with the applicable law. He explained that this was established at a meeting held in the National Assembly of Republika Srpska attended by legal experts and representatives of institutions, including the Government and the President of Srpska. "Therefore, there are no obstacles to holding a referendum, which is conducted in accordance with the Law on Referendum and Citizens' Initiative, and RIK is the only body competent to conduct it," Tamindžija stressed. He added that the Assembly Collegium will set the date and agenda for a special session of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, to be held in the coming period. Tamindžija rejected media claims that there is allegedly no RIK in Republika Srpska and therefore no body to conduct a referendum, emphasizing that RIK is in office and regularly receives remuneration for its work. He explained that confusion arose because last year RIK members submitted resignations, but the Committee on Elections and Appointments neither accepted nor considered them, meaning that their status is effectively as if they had never been offered. "Therefore, there are no obstacles to holding the referendum as a democratic right of citizens to express their will," Tamindžija underlined. He noted that citizens have the right to express themselves on any issue, so there is no reason they should not have the right to decide on the status of the President of Republika Srpska. Following the ruling of the unconstitutional Court of BiH against Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik, a referendum is expected to be held in Srpska based on a decision to be adopted by the National Assembly. President Dodik stated that the referendum question will be formulated so that the result will yield a resounding "no," adding that afterward, there may be another referendum producing a resounding "yes." Goran Bubić, attorney for President Dodik, told SRNA that today, on behalf of the legal team and acting as authorized representative, he filed an appeal with the Court of BiH against the August 6 decision of the BiH Central Election Commission /CEC/ to terminate Dodik's mandate. Bubić emphasized that in this case, criminal law and consequently the CEC decision are being used as instruments of political pressure. On August 1, the Appellate Division of the Court of BiH upheld the first-instance verdict against President Dodik, sentencing him to one year in prison and six years of prohibition from political activity "for failing to comply with the decisions of Christian Schmidt".