RADINOVIĆ: DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY MUST BE RESPECTED

GRADIŠKA, 5 SEPTEMBER /SRNA/ – Branislav Radinović, President of the Gradiška City Election Commission, told SRNA that in his view, the decisions of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, which rejected the possibility of holding early presidential elections in Srpska, must be respected, even though this body has not yet considered the decision of the Central Election Commission /CEC/ of BiH, which scheduled these elections for 23 November.

"The Gradiška City Election Commission has not yet received any instructions regarding the holding of early elections for the President of Republika Srpska, announced by the CEC of BiH, and therefore has not convened and has no official position on this matter," Radinović said. He stated that the Gradiška City Election Comission is waiting for official instructions from both the BiH CEC and the competent institutions of Republika Srpska. "Currently, the situation is such that members of local election commissions face criminal charges regardless of how they act – either for not respecting the decisions of the National Assembly and the Constitution of Republika Srpska, or for not implementing the election process for elections announced by the CEC. In addition, a referendum has been announced," Radinović noted. Željko Škondrić, President of the Prijedor City Election Comission, told SRNA that the Commission had received notification from the BiH CEC about the scheduled early presidential elections in Republika Srpska. He said that this notification arrived yesterday, and that the Prijedor City Election Comission held a session today in which the members were informed about the information from the BiH CEC. Škondrić added that the Prijedor Citya Election Comission is still awaiting correspondence from other institutions concerning matters within its competence. The Republic Election Commission (REC), at its session on 3 September, adopted a decision on implementing the conclusions of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska regarding the non-conduct of early elections for the President of Srpska. REC President Oliver Blagojević told SRNA that he does not dispute the CEC of BiH's right to perform its work, but emphasized that REC has clearly stated its position regarding early presidential elections in Srpska. Regarding the CEC of BiH's decision to activate the service for electronic registration of voters outside BiH for the early presidential elections in Srpska, Blagojević highlighted that REC has called on other authorities of Srpska to respect the conclusions of the National Assembly concerning early elections and all other related matters. By the conclusions of the National Assembly of 22 August, Republika Srpska rejected the possibility of holding early presidential elections for the President of Republika Srpska and requested that all authorities of Srpska and local self-government units refrain from taking any actions related to their implementation.