The government of Republika Srpska (RS), the Serb entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said on Monday that a court ruling convicting RS President Milorad Dodik represented a judgment not just against him but against the entire Serb people in Bosnia, warning that the decision undermined the country’s constitutional order and the Dayton Peace Agreement.
In a statement following a cabinet session, the RS government accused the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) — the other signatory entity of the 1995 peace accord — of backing what it called “unconstitutional judicial institutions” in passing an “illegal and politically motivated” verdict against Dodik.
“This verdict places Republika Srpska in an unequal position and violates the core principles of the Dayton Agreement,” the statement said.
The government called on all political actors and citizens of RS to unite behind Dodik, whom they described as the democratically and directly elected president, warning that the decision was part of a broader effort to impose “colonial governance” and silence democratic institutions.
The BiH State Court last month sentenced Dodik to one year in prison and banned him from holding public office for six years, citing his defiance of decisions by the international High Representative — a role that holds broad powers under the Dayton Agreement. The Central Election Commission (CEC) is expected to strip Dodik of his mandate at a session on Tuesday.
Under the BiH Election Law, the CEC has 90 days to call early elections to fill the RS presidency.
Dodik has said he will not allow early elections to take place in RS. Some opposition parties have rejected a call by Dodik’s Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) to form a government of national unity, signaling instead that they intend to participate in elections.
Meanwhile, Dodik’s legal team is preparing to file an appeal to the BiH Constitutional Court and will request a temporary injunction to delay the implementation of the verdict.
The Party of Democratic Action (SDA), the main Bosniak opposition party, responded by warning that allowing Dodik to remain as SNSD party leader — despite being barred from official functions — would effectively enable him to continue exerting power and destabilizing institutions.
“If Dodik retains control of party structures, he can still dictate RS politics and obstruct state functions,” the SDA said in a statement, accusing the Office of the High Representative (OHR) of indirectly coordinating with Dodik through recent policy moves, including suspending public funding to SNSD.
The SDA also called on the judiciary to clearly explain whether the verdict bars Dodik from leading a political party, warning that anything less would fuel public distrust and reinforce perceptions that the ruling was a political show.
Dodik, writing on social media platform X, questioned the court’s authority to treat the High Representative as a legal institution within BiH’s constitutional order. He argued that only parliaments have the right to make laws under the constitution.
“This ruling was delivered under political pressure and violates both the Constitution and the Dayton Agreement,” Dodik wrote.
The RS government said it would take all necessary steps to preserve the functioning of its institutions, and to protect peace and security in the entity.