NPS AND DNS HAVE NO REASON TO PARTICIPATE IN ELECTIONS BASED ON A CEC DECISION ROOTED IN A POLITICAL PROCESS

KOZARSKA DUBICA, August 29 /SRNA/ - President of the People's Party of Srpska /NPS/ Darko Banjac stated today that his party and the Democratic People's Alliance /DNS/ reject the political ruling and the decision of the Central Election Commission /CEC/ to call presidential elections in Republika Srpska, emphasizing that such elections, founded on a political process, should not be held.

Banjac said that no party within the coalition should put forward a candidate in such elections, since the citizens of Republika Srpska have already elected their representatives, and only they - not "courts, tourists, high representatives, or individuals" - have the right to do so. "As far as NPS and DNS are concerned, we have no reason to participate in these elections. We have already gone to the polls, we have elected the president of Republika Srpska, and we have elections scheduled for October 2026. Those are the elections we should wait for. These elections, in my opinion, are not legal, they cannot be held, nor should they be held," Banjac stressed. He added that for this reason the National Assembly of Republika Srpska is moving towards holding a referendum. "At the referendum, the citizens must confirm who their president is. The citizens of Republika Srpska must fight against fear. People need to know this is Republika Srpska, and we will not be afraid to fight for Republika Srpska, its competencies, and the Dayton Peace Agreement," Banjac added. He stressed that Sarajevo and the Federation of BiH will never elect the president or the institutions of Republika Srpska - only the citizens of Srpska will. "I have no intention of running in such elections, and I would like to see the person who, after such a political process and after such an unconstitutional and unlawful decision by the CEC, would be a candidate for the presidency of Republika Srpska for just nine months. These things are unacceptable to me, and it is unbelievable that they are even happening," Banjac stated. He emphasized that a referendum is now before Republika Srpska. "And if we see that we will not return to the principles of the Dayton Peace Agreement, then Republika Srpska must seek its own path," Banjac concluded.