Sarajevo, 12 June 2025, dtt-net.com – The House of Representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) today approved a proposal for changes to the law on government, aimed at imposing a deadline to the prime minister and also enable to at least 14 members of the house to propose appointment of ministers and deputy ministers in order to avoid empty seats as is the case of the interior/security post following resignation of Serb minister in January.
Of 37 members present in the 42-seat chamber, 23 voted in favour, 9 against and 5 abstained.
In late January, minister Nenad Nešić resigned after corruption and money laundering charges and the post is empty since, as there is no agreement between governing partners to propose a new one.
The case of Nešić, served to the member of House of Representatives from the People’s European Union party (NES), Jasmin Emrić, who blames the Prime Minister Borjana Kristo of inaction, propose changes aimed to unlock the situation through a new law.
“In order to eliminate the gaps and existing weaknesses in the procedure for appointing a minister or deputy minister in a situation where the predecessor resigns or is dismissed, and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina fails to fulfil the legally established obligation to appoint a successor within 15 days at the latest, and to carry out the procedure for submitting the appointment to the House of Representatives for approval, it is necessary to urgently adopt amendments to the Law on the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in order to ensure the continuity of the appointment process and deny the possibility of blocking, delaying or neglecting this process by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers due to political, party or other subjective assessments and circumstances,” Emrić said in his explanation.
According to the changes approved, in the scenario when the prime minister does take steps to appoint a new minister or deputy minister, at least 14 members of the house can also initiate proposals to nominate and appoint new members of the government.
The approved text needs to be adopted by the House of People too to take effect.
The changes to the law on government come also after Bosniak ruling and Serb opposition parties are attempting to remove the pro-Russia party of Milorad Dodik from the government.
Attempts to dismiss two SNSD ministers are blocked at the upper house, House of Peoples, as SNSD members are boycotting the vote thus making impossible the ethnic quota quorum in the 15-member body. The upper house has five members from each of three ethnic groups, of which three are from Dodik’s SNSD.
A same boycott by SNSD members is expected also on the new text approved by the lower house today.
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