Dodik: SNSD secures two-thirds majority, will have at least 57 seats in RS Assembly

Speaking after a meeting of the SNSD Presidency, Dodik said such a majority would enable the party to secure the election of a fourth delegate to the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, making it an indispensable factor in the formation of government at the state level.

''We have secured additional seats and will have a clear two-thirds majority. This will give us a majority to elect the fourth delegate to the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, making us an indispensable factor in forming the state-level government,'' Dodik said.

Speaking about relations with other political parties, he said the Croat Democratic Union of BiH (HDZ BiH) was an SNSD partner. He expected Bosniak political representatives, he said, to organize themselves and define their positions, but warned that the SNSD would not accept 'hostile positions toward Republika Srpska'.

Dodik added that the meeting had discussed a platform for the party’s activities at the state level, based on the fundamental principle of respecting the Dayton Peace Agreement and the competencies established under it.

He announced that the SNSD would seek to have the decisions imposed by the High Representative in BiH annulled through parliamentary procedures, arguing that they undermine the Constitution of BiH. The party would also seek a review of decisions that were subsequently endorsed by parliament.

Among the issues he said should be resolved before the Council of Ministers of BiH is formed, Dodik highlighted reform of the BiH Constitutional Court. The SNSD proposes adopting a law stipulating that the court comprise three judges each from the Serb, Croat and Bosniak peoples, while opposing any continued participation of foreign judges.

“We cannot continue working with foreign judges on the bench. This is something that must be resolved before the Council of Ministers is formed,” Dodik said, describing the Constitutional Court’s work to date as 'inquisitorial'.

Speaking about BiH’s European path, Dodik said the SNSD was interested in cooperation with the European Union but would not accept what he described as “the degradation of Republika Srpska’s institutions and the imposition of solutions” it considers unacceptable.

He also announced that the party would demand that each minister in the Council of Ministers of BiH have two deputies to ensure ethnic representation. He said the Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina (SBiH) would not be part of the new Council of Ministers if the SNSD took part in forming it.

Dodik said the SNSD had not formed a negotiating team for talks on the future organization of relations at the state level, adding that the party’s priority was to define its objectives and protect the interests of Republika Srpska, its security, natural resources and population.

On economic and social issues, he announced that pensions in Republika Srpska should increase by between 7.5 and eight percent next year. He also announced a 10 percent pay rise for education employees from January 1, with the possibility of subsequent salary increases in other sectors.

“I will say something that will certainly spark considerable debate: people in Republika Srpska have never lived better than they do today,” Dodik said, claiming that the entity had 407,000 households and that every family had a car and the means to travel and earn a living.

He also announced plans to adopt a law preventing the blocking of accounts belonging to companies considered vital to the functioning of Republika Srpska, adding that the issue of the current account freeze affecting Radio-Television of Republika Srpska (RTRS) had been resolved.

Speaking about relations with Serbia, Dodik said the SNSD respected the electoral will of Serbian citizens and expected cooperation with the country’s authorities to continue as before.

He recalled that the SNSD had also cooperated with the Serbian government when Boris Tadić was president, noting that Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić had been angry with them for a time because of this, “but later realized that he had to cooperate with the SNSD”.

“Just as we cannot influence elections there, they cannot influence the will of the people here. I believe there are reasonable people among the student electoral list,” Dodik said.

Dodik is due to visit Mar-a-Lago, US President Donald Trump’s private resort, where a gathering of American conservatives and key figures from the MAGA movement is scheduled to take place from November 4 to 7.