By Almir Terzic, Talha Ozturk
BANJA LUKA, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina could form a new government by the end of the year, according to Mladen Ivanic, one of the three members of the country's tripartite presidency council.
Ivanic, the leader of the Party of Democratic Progress, said on Thursday that the new government's goals would be to reduce public debt and create a more stable budget.
Mladen Ivanic, who won the Serb chair in the presidency in elections on October 12, told the Anadolu Agency that if a coalition agreement between the Democratic Action Party (SDA), the Democratic Front (DF), Party of Democratic Progress (PDP), the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS), the National Democratic Movement (NDP), could be agreed, they would be ready to form a government before the new year.
Blaming the previous government's "inactivity" for stalled relations with the European Union, Ivanic said the government would progress with its EU membership bid.
He said: "We need to create a positive environment. If we form the government quickly, if we unlock the coordination mechanism, we can receive support from our friends or we can find partners."
- 'Logical stance'
Ivanic also attacked criticisms that Serbia had interfered with the government-forming process in Bosnia and Herzegovina, saying Serbia would never get itself involved in the forming of a government in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
"Serbia never directly interfered in the elections on 12 October and never gave serious political support. Serbia showed a very unbiased stance in this regard and this is the logical stance," he added.
According to Bosnia and Herzegovina's constitution, the tripartite Presidency consists of one Bosniak, one Croat and one Serb elected from the Republika Srpska.
The member with the most votes becomes the chairman, but the chairmanship rotates every eight months, to ensure equality.
The presidency term lasts four years.
www.aa.com.tr/en
Bosnia and Herzegovina could form a new government by the end of the year, according to Mladen Ivanic, one of the three members of the country's tripartite presidency council.
Ivanic, the leader of the Party of Democratic Progress, said on Thursday that the new government's goals would be to reduce public debt and create a more stable budget.
Mladen Ivanic, who won the Serb chair in the presidency in elections on October 12, told the Anadolu Agency that if a coalition agreement between the Democratic Action Party (SDA), the Democratic Front (DF), Party of Democratic Progress (PDP), the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS), the National Democratic Movement (NDP), could be agreed, they would be ready to form a government before the new year.
Blaming the previous government's "inactivity" for stalled relations with the European Union, Ivanic said the government would progress with its EU membership bid.
He said: "We need to create a positive environment. If we form the government quickly, if we unlock the coordination mechanism, we can receive support from our friends or we can find partners."
- 'Logical stance'
Ivanic also attacked criticisms that Serbia had interfered with the government-forming process in Bosnia and Herzegovina, saying Serbia would never get itself involved in the forming of a government in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
"Serbia never directly interfered in the elections on 12 October and never gave serious political support. Serbia showed a very unbiased stance in this regard and this is the logical stance," he added.
According to Bosnia and Herzegovina's constitution, the tripartite Presidency consists of one Bosniak, one Croat and one Serb elected from the Republika Srpska.
The member with the most votes becomes the chairman, but the chairmanship rotates every eight months, to ensure equality.
The presidency term lasts four years.
www.aa.com.tr/en
