Bosnian court upholds ruling that removes Dodik

A Bosnia and Herzegovina court on Monday rejected as unfounded an appeal filed by the Republika Srpska president against the Central Election Commission's decision to revoke his mandate.

The court said the ruling, adopted in a closed session, upheld the commission's Aug. 6 decision to terminate Milorad Dodik's mandate under Bosnia's election law. Dodik's appeal was dismissed as unsubstantiated, it added, adding that the full decision is available on the court's website.

Earlier Monday in Banja Luka, Dodik announced that a referendum on his position would be held in Republika Srpska at the end of September, framing the vote as an expression of the Serbian entity's will and a demand to return to the framework of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement.

His remarks came shortly after Republika Srpska Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic resigned, paving the way for the formation of a new government. Dodik thanked Viskovic for his service and said he would be named head of the entity's highways company.

The electoral commission revoked Dodik's mandate after he was given a one-year prison sentence and a six-year ban on holding public office earlier this month for refusing in 2023 to enforce decisions issued by High Representative Christian Schmidt, Bosnia's international overseer for the Dayton agreement.

Dodik has rejected both the court and electoral commission rulings, vowing that Republika Srpska will resist "external interventions" and calling on EUFOR, the EU's peacekeeping mission in Bosnia, to position itself on the entity's boundary "if necessary."

Bosnia and Herzegovina is made up of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska.