President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik stated that a referendum in Republika Srpska must take place.
Dodik explained that “the Bosniaks have been exploiting constitutional mechanisms by launching initiatives at the last possible moment each time, thus delaying the process.” He emphasized that January 9 — the Day of Republika Srpska — would be the best date for the vote.
“For the Serb people, it is crucial to have behind us a historic and major referendum that will declare we have never accepted international interventions,” Dodik told Večernje novosti.
He reiterated that no one in Republika Srpska — neither the ruling coalition nor the opposition — wants early elections.
“These elections are a humiliation for Republika Srpska. The electoral process must remain independent and cannot be externally controlled, but the opposition in Srpska has accepted that,” he said.
Dodik reminded that the ruling coalition had offered the opposition to form a government of national unity, but that they refused, choosing instead to go to Sarajevo the same day.
He stressed that he remains the elected president of Republika Srpska under its Constitution, and described the decision of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina as “an attack on that Constitution.”
“Many people still see me as their unquestioned president and remain loyal. Whoever comes here, the first thing they hear is ‘ask the president.’ That’s loyalty, discipline, and respect. The opposition doesn’t have that — that’s why they can’t understand,” Dodik concluded.
Source: RTRS
