ATTEMPTS TO TURN HOUSE OF PEOPLES INTO HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ARE UNCONSTITUTIONAL

SARAJEVO, NOVEMBER 14 /SRNA/ - Deputy Chairman of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH Nikola Špirić stated today that transforming the House of Peoples into a House of Representatives is out of the question, and that the solution lies in respecting the Constitution of BiH, the Dayton Agreement, and the law, as well as in reaching agreements.

Špirić expressed regret that today's session of the House of Peoples was not held. "At first, I thought it was just a matter of the House Chairman Kemal Ademović being unprepared, until I saw that he had become some sort of opposition within the House of Peoples," Špirić told SRNA. He reminded that every session must be scheduled in accordance with the Rules of Procedure and the Constitution of BiH. "These days, they are misleading the public by claiming they have a majority in the House of Peoples, and if they do, why haven't they convened a session?" Špirić asked, noting that this is a classic lie and manipulation, since the constitutional majority consists of three MPs from each of the Bosniak, Croat, and Serb groups. He pointed out that the other side does not have that majority and asked why, then, there is no willingness to reach an agreement on convening sessions and setting the agenda. According to Špirić, those who created the Dayton Agreement were visionary and knew that, at some point, there would be attempts at domination. They prevented this by defining a constitutional majority required to hold a session of the House of Peoples if such domination were to be attempted. "There is nothing unusual about this. I ask them not to block the work, to sit down and talk, so we can move forward," Špirić emphasized. Regarding the possibility of holding a House of Peoples session dedicated to the BiH budget, he said that there is consensus within the House's Administrative Board and that the majority of the Serb Caucus will respond and contribute to ensuring that the BiH budget for 2025 is adopted. "I am against any form of manipulation or insults that I hear today regarding the non-holding of this session. I think everyone should look at themselves in the mirror," Špirić concluded.