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Prime minister of Republika Srpska resigns, new cabinet to be formed shortly

According to Radovan Viskovic, the decision to resign was agreed upon with Milorad Dodik

Radovan Viskovic Sergey Bobylev/TASS

Radovan Viskovic

© Sergey Bobylev/TASS

BELGRADE, August 18. /TASS/. Prime Minister of Republika Srpska Radovan Viskovic has resigned from his post and announced that a new cabinet will be formed in the entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"I am leaving the stable Republika Srpska to my successor and wish every success to a new government," Viskovic said at a press conference. According to Viskovic, the decision to resign was agreed upon with Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik.

Viskovic has led the government of Republika Srpska since 2018. Local media reports indicate that he will be replaced by Savo Minic, the entity's incumbent minister of agriculture, while Viskovic will take over as head of the road management agency.

As per the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement, Bosnia and Herzegovina is made up of two entities: the Muslim-Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (approximately 51% of the country’s territory) and Republika Srpska (about 49% of the territory), along with the Brcko District. The three primary ethnic groups — Bosniaks (Slavs converted to Islam), Serbs (Orthodox Christians), and Croats (Catholics) — are represented proportionally in the government.

The country is essentially governed through a high representative (a post created by the 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 leadership of Republika Srpska, Russia and China do not recognize Schmidt’s legitimacy.

On August 6, the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina terminated Dodik’s mandate as president of Republika Srpska due to his conviction and ordered an early election. Earlier, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Appeals Panel of the Court upheld the first-instance verdict, sentencing Dodik to six years in prison and banning him from engaging in political activities for refusing to comply with the decisions of High Representative Christian Schmidt.

Later, the decision to imprison Dodik was replaced with a monetary fine. In response, he announced a referendum on confidence in the leadership of Republika Srpska.

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