It is time for Bosnia to return to its constitutionally guaranteed position and as the newly elected Serb Presidency member, I will act accordingly, said the RS President and the newly elected tripartite Presidency member Milorad Dodik in an interview with Srna news agency.

“I would like to recall that the constitution doesn't recognise the institution of the High Representative and it's high time to say goodbye to this institution which has done more harm to Bosnian citizens than good,” Dodik said. “It's paradoxical that I, as someone who doesn't believe in Bosnia and Herzegovina much, am fighting for its guaranteed sovereignty. What's the point of elections if a foreigner is going to make decisions instead of our elected officials.”  

Bosnia's High Representative is a representative of the international community whose primary task is to oversee the civilian implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement which ended the war in Bosnia (1992-1995) and which contains the Constitution of the country.  

The state Presidency consists of three members, each coming from one of three constituent peoples in the country: Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs. During the October general election, Milorad Dodik was elected as the Serb Presidency member, while the other two members are the Bosniak Sefik Dzaferovic and the Croat Zeljko Komsic.

Dodik noted that the time has come for other politicians in Bosnia to show responsibility and readiness to manage the processes independently and to answer for their actions directly to the people who elected them.  

“The situation in which we're at fault and the foreigners are responsible for this situation is no longer bearable or acceptable, especially considering the fact that the same foreigners are talking about Bosnia's European accession process which is under their supervision and not ours,” he added. “The foreigners were the ones who undermined the constitution of this territory called Bosnia and thus they undoubtedly contributed to the talks of Bosnia as a failed state. Therefore we must return the power to the peoples in the country and reject any foreign interference in our internal affairs.”