Bosnia: RS appoints new government, again led by Dodik loyalist

With the opposition boycotting the session, MPs from the ruling majority controlled by former RS president Milorad Dodik moved through a rapid sequence of decisions, first accepting at an extraordinary sitting the resignation Minić had submitted earlier this week. They then ensured that, within hours, the decision was verified by the upper House of Peoples and published in the entity's Official Gazette, followed immediately by another extraordinary session at which Minic was confirmed for a new term in the same post.

The unusual scenario, which opposition parties likened to a coup d'etat because the decisions were taken on a non-working day and at breakneck speed, stems from an assessment that the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is expected next week to declare Minic's now former government unconstitutional. His mandate was granted in August last year by Dodik, who no longer had the legal authority to do so after his mandate as RS president had been revoked following a court ruling sentencing him to one year in prison and a six-year ban on holding public office.

"This has never happened anywhere before, for a government to be dismissed in the morning and appointed again in the evening," MP Nedeljko Glamocak said during the debate.

Any discussion of the manner in which Minic was dismissed was blocked by RS National Assembly Speaker Nenad Stevandic, known for his ruthless confrontations with opposition MPs, whom he regularly denies the floor when they criticise the authorities.

MPs from the ruling coalition argued that the manoeuvre was necessary to protect the interests of RS, while opposition MPs warned that Minić's reappointment was also contentious because he was nominated by Ana Trisic Babic, whom parliament had appointed as acting RS president, in violation of the entity's constitution.

Minic, a 52-year-old lawyer from Bosanski Samac regarded as a loyal Dodik ally, told MPs he would continue to implement the same policies as before, alongside various reforms. He believes his new government will last until October, when general elections are planned across BiH.