No quorum in BiH House of Peoples as SNSD and HDZ BiH delegates fail to attend session

After a ten-minute break called by the Speaker of the House, Kemal Ademovic, in an attempt to secure a quorum, the situation remained unchanged.

He informed those present that eight delegates were in attendance - five from the Bosniak caucus, one from the Croat caucus, and two from the Serb caucus.

"Delegates from HDZ BiH and SNSD are not present, so there is no quorum in two caucuses, the Serb and the Croat, and I am suspending the session," Ademovic said.

Only delegate Ilija Cvitanovic justified his absence from the session.

Among other items, the House of Peoples was set to consider a request from the House of Representatives of the state parliament to review, under urgent procedure, the proposed amendments to the Law on Excise Duties in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The proposed law envisages that, in the event of market disruptions or other justified reasons, the Council of Ministers of BiH may adopt a decision to temporarily abolish or reduce excise duties on petroleum products.

Such a decision would be adopted for a maximum period of six months within a single calendar year.

Delegates were also expected to consider a request from the Council of Ministers of BiH to review, under urgent procedure, the bill on restricting the disposal of assets aimed at preventing terrorism, financing of terrorism, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

The proposed bill is of exceptional importance for preserving BiH’s international reputation and avoiding entry into the FATF’s ICRG process (International Co-operation Review Group), the Council of Ministers stated.

The House of Peoples was also expected, in the first reading (principles), to consider the draft law on the regulator, transmission, and electricity market in Bosnia and Herzegovina, proposed by the Council of Ministers.

Among the items on the agenda were also the bill on the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of BiH and the bill on amendments to the Law on the Court of BiH.

These are two key legislative proposals whose adoption is one of the conditions for opening accession negotiations between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Union.