BiH Agrees on Formation of Government

Today in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), after 14 months without a government, the leaders of the six main political parties in BiH have come to an agreement on the formation of the Council of Ministers; the last piece of the puzzle needed to form the government at the state level in BiH.

The six political parties consisted of the Serb Democratic Party (SDS), Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNDS), the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), HDZ 1990, the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP). The last election in BiH took place in October 2010 and the leaders were unable to agree on the formation of a state level government due to infighting over the distribution of nine ministerial portfolios, particularly the foreign ministry and the post of prime minister.

Since the elections in October of 2010, two informal political alliances have emerged. One includes SDS, SNSD and the Bosnian Croat parties, HDZ and HDZ 1990. The other coalition comprises SDA and SDP.

Thus far, the leaders of the six political parties have agreed to the following:

1. Prime Minister will be of Croat ethnicity.
2. Minister of Foreign Affairs will be of Bosniak ethnicity.
*Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs will be of Serb ethnicity.
3. Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations will be of Serb ethnicity.
*Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations will be of Bosniak ethnicity.
4. Minister of Finance and Treasury will be of Serb ethnicity.
*Deputy Minister of Finance and Treasury will be of Bosniak ethnicity.
5. Minister of Security will be of Bosniak ethnicity.
*Deputy Minister of Security will be of Croat ethnicity.
6. Minister of Justice will be of Croat ethnicity.
*Deputy Minister of Justice will be of Serb ethnicity.
7. Minister of Civil Affairs will be of Serb ethnicity.
*Deputy Minister of Civil Affairs will be of Bosniak ethnicity.
8. Minister of Human Rights and Refugees will be of Croat ethnicity.
*Deputy Minister of Human Rights and Refugees will be of Serb ethnicity.
9. Minister of Communications and Transport will be of Bosniak ethnicity.
*Deputy Minister of Communications and Transport will be of Croat ethnicity.
10. Minister of Defense will be of Bosniak ethnicity.
*Deputy Minister of Defense will be of Serb ethnicity.

The political party leaders also came to an agreement that the director position for the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) and the Communications Regulatory Agency will go to a person of Serb ethnicity. Moreover, the Agency for Identification of Documents, Registers and Data Exchange (IDEA) will go to a person of Bosniak ethnicity; and the head of the Indirect Taxation Authority will go to a person of Croat ethnicity, with two senior positions for persons of Serb ethnicity.

Although the Dayton Peace Accord ended the 1992-1995 war in BiH, it divided the country into two entities – the Federation of BiH (FBiH), dominated by Bosniaks and Croats, and the Serb-controlled Republika Srpska (RS). As a result, each entity has its own government, president and parliament. In addition, BiH has a tripartite presidency, made up of representatives of each of the three main ethnic communities, as well as a state-level parliament and government, located in Sarajevo.

BAACBH believes that in order for BiH to join the EU and NATO, it needs comprehensive constitutional reform that will enable it to become an efficient and effective state capable of meeting its domestic and international obligations. A crucial aspect of constitutional reform is the fulfillment of the five objectives and two conditions stipulated by the Peace Implementation Council before the closure of the Office of High Representative. The entity-voting mechanism in parliament, which has allowed nationalistic sentiments to block the legislative process in BiH during the last 16 years, must be reformed to reflect a democratic decision-making process.

We believe that 14 months without a government is unacceptable for any modern day democracy. Political leaders of BiH have to find a constructive and more efficient way of agreement and constitutional reform must be part of any such progress.