BELGRADE, August 6. /TASS/. Despite the decision of the BIH Court Appellate Chamber to uphold his earlier conviction for ignoring the decisions of High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina Christian Schmidt, Republika Srpska (one of Bosnia and Herzegovina's entities) President Milorad Dodik has stated that he does not intend to leave his post or the country’s territory.

In response, Dodik initiated a referendum in which the people will express their will regarding his mandate and the exercise of his presidential powers.

"The people gave me my mandate, so I will listen to them in the referendum, which, based on the People's Assembly's decision, will be held in the near future. It will concern me and the functions I perform," Dodik told reporters after a meeting with leaders of the Republika Srpska ruling coalition parties.

According to the politician, the coalition is determined to defend the constitutional and Dayton powers of the Republika Srpska, which, as he noted, "have been seriously undermined by the actions of Christian Schmidt, who has not been approved by the UN Security Council [as the international community's high representative in the country] and lacks legitimacy."

Dodik emphasized that he does not intend to leave his post or leave the entity. "I am here, and I will stay here. I will fulfill the function entrusted to me by the people. I do not intend to leave Republika Srpska. I will defeat them with their own weapons — politics," he stressed. Earlier, he said that he was not considering capitulation in response to the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina's decision to annul his mandate.

As per the Dayton Agreement, Bosnia and Herzegovina is made up of two primary entities: the Muslim-Croatian Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (51% of the territory) and Republika Srpska (49% of the territory), as well as of the Brcko District. Three main peoples — the Bosniaks (Slavs converted to Islam), the Serbs (Orthodox) and the Croatians (Catholics) — are represented proportionally in the government.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is essentially governed through a high representative (a post created by the 1995 Dayton Agreement), who is appointed by the steering committee of the Peace Implementation Council after approval by the UN Security Council. However, in May 2021, the ambassadors of the steering committee countries decided to appoint Christian Schmidt as the new high representative without approval from the UN Security Council. The Republika Srpska leadership, Russia and China does not recognize Schmidt’s legitimacy.