In East Sarajevo, the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) held a session of its Main Board, deciding to enter the upcoming elections under the name "SDS - Will of the People." Djordje Milicevic, a member of the SDS Presidency, discussed this decision and its implications with N1.

Milicevic emphasized that the name change was a forced, technical solution and reassured supporters that it would not impact the party's core values or voter base. He highlighted that SDS had filed an appeal with the Appellate Division of the Court of BiH almost a month ago and made multiple requests to the Central Election Commission (CEC) to clarify the conditions for registering for the 2024 elections. Despite the recent rejection of their appeal, SDS will participate in the elections with the same group of representatives, program, emblem, flag, and voter base.

Milicevic acknowledged that not having members on the polling boards is a significant handicap, but he announced plans to appeal to the Constitutional Court of BiH. He criticized the unprecedented practice of excluding SDS from the electoral process and stressed that this should not become a norm.

He reminded the public that SDS has been on the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) blacklist since 2004, which has prevented the party from having a bank account. This restriction continues even though US sanctions also target individuals from the ruling party in RS. Milicevic noted that the party had not faced significant issues due to being on the OFAC list and had not seen the need to request removal from it.

Responding to US Ambassador Michael Murphy's claim that SDS had never sought removal from the blacklist, Milicevic stated that the party had never been prohibited from having an account until now, and no one in the leadership considered it necessary to make such a request.

Regarding Milorad Dodik’s call for a joint effort against foreign interventionism, Milicevic reiterated SDS's clear stance on imposing decisions. He criticized the current RS government’s false patriotic policies, pointing out that many conclusions made by the National Assembly of RS (NSRS) have not been respected. He also found it indicative that the Banking Agency, responsible for overseeing the banking sector in RS, had not made any statements, suggesting that the agency and RS institutions were tasked with preventing SDS from having an account and participating in the elections.

Milicevic concluded by expressing hope that these issues would be resolved and reaffirmed SDS's commitment to providing an alternative to the current RS government.