European Forum

SDP denies split in Bosnia’s Federation Coalition

On 26 January the Bosnia’s Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader, Zlatko Lagumdzija, denied reports that the government of the Federation entity may have to be reconstructed following a damaging row between his party and its coalition partner, the Party of Democratic Action (SDA), over politicizing. The Federation of BiH is one of the two political entities that compose the sovereign country of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In March 2011 a government of the federation entity was formed, whereby the SDA and the SDP are the two main political parties. The disagreement between the parties has raised questions over whether the new government of the entity will survive.

On January 24 the ministers from the SDA were outvoted by their coalition colleagues, among the Social Democrats, concerning a law on interior affairs, which the SDA said would lead to the politicisation of the police force. The root of the SDA objection is that the new law says the director of police in the Federation will be chosen or dismissed by the Interior Ministry and the overall government and not by the parliament of the Federation as is now the case. With this law the SDP undermines the independence of the entity police, according to the SDA. Also the Interior ministry, and the Social Democrats, who hold the interior ministry post, will effectively take over the control of the police in the Federation if this law will be adopted.

Desnica Radivojevic, an SDA minister in the Federation government, stated that if the proposed law is adopted it would mean “giving up and denying all the reforms we have achieved.” “We [the SDA] think it is not good for relations within the coalition in general that we were outvoted on such an important law,” Radivojevic added. It is the first time since the entity government was appointed in March 2011 that they have diametrically opposed each other.

Sources: BalkanInsight, European Forum
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