The newly elected Serb member of the Bosnian tripartite Presidency said that, as soon as he takes over the office, he will initiate the removal of the office of the top international official overseeing the implementation of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement, which ended the war in the country.

 “We will initiate this procedure, it will be the main theme of the first part of the (Presidency) mandate,” said Milorad Dodik, the leader of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD).

Dodik has been advocating for the secession of Bosnia’s Serb-dominated semi-autonomous Republika Srpska (RS) entity and its annexation to neighbouring Serbia throughout his past mandate as RS President.

He and top members of his party have been criticising the Office of High Representative for years, saying its officials have been siding with Bosniaks and in this way breaching international law and the Dayton Peace Agreement.

He also said Bosnia will not enter NATO while he is a Presidency member and that he will oppose Bosnia’s recognition of Kosovo as an independent state.

The Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina is composed of three members, each representing one of the ethnic majorities in the country, Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs. Decisions require a consensus between them.

Dodik said that should he oppose the other two Presidency members on any decision, he would veto it and forward it to the Parliament of Republika Srpska to make a decision.  

“Bosniaks don’t agree with this, because it shows where the main (decision-making) place is,” the Bosnian Serb leader told ‘TV Happy’.