Referendum on the national holiday in the Republika Srpska 2016

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The ballot paper contained the following question, which could be answered with yes or no: Da li podržavate da se January 9th obilježava i slavi kao dan Republike Srpske? (Do you support that January 9 is celebrated and honored as the Remembrance Day of the Republika Srpska?)

The referendum on the national holiday in the Republika Srpska took place on September 25, 2016. The subject of the referendum was to keep January 9th as an official holiday. The day refers to the establishment of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian republic on January 9, 1992. The holiday was declared unconstitutional by the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Constitutional Court following a complaint by the Bosnian politician Bakir Izetbegović . The holiday is also the day of St. Stephen, celebrated by the Serbian Christians, and excludes the Muslim and Croatian residents in the republic.

With 55.77 percent turnout, 99.81% of those who voted were in favor of keeping the holiday.

Political background

Sokolac Rogatica Rudo Višegrad Pale Foča Gacko Kalinovik Nevesinje Bileća Trebinje Ravno Ljubinje Konjic Istočni Mostar Berkovići Neum Mostar Stolac Čapljina Čajniče Goražde Pale-Prača Ustiprača Foča-Ustikolina Srebrenica Bratunac Milići Han Pijesak Zvornik Bijeljina Brčko Ugljevik Lopare Vlasenica Šekovići Osmaci Olovo Ilijaš Hadžići Ilidža Trnovo Istočni Stari Grad Istočna Ilidža Vogošća Sarajevo-Stari Grad Sarajevo-Centar Sarajevo-Novi Grad Istočno Novo Sarajevo Novo Sarajevo Visoko Glamoč Livno Bosansko Grahovo Kupres Kupres (RS) Šipovo Jajce Donji Vakuf Bugojno Gornji Vakuf Prozor-Rama Jablanica Tomislavgrad Posušje Grude Široki Brijeg Ljubuški Čitluk Fojnica Kreševo Kiseljak Busovača Novi Travnik Travnik Zenica Vitez Kakanj Vareš Breza Kladanj Živinice Kalesija Sapna Teočak Tuzla Lukavac Čelić Srebrenik Banovići Zavidovići Žepče Maglaj Tešanj Usora Dobretići Gradačac Gračanica Doboj Istok Velika Kladuša Cazin Bužim Bosanska Krupa Bihać Bosanski Petrovac Drvar Sanski Most Ključ Petrovac (RS) Istočni Drvar Ribnik Mrkonjić Grad Jezero Kneževo Kotor Varoš Teslić Banja Luka Oštra Luka Krupa na Uni Prijedor Novi Grad Kostajnica Kozarska Dubica Gradiška Srbac Laktaši Čelinac Prnjavor Derventa Doboj Stanari Modriča Brod Pelagićevo Donji Žabar Orašje Domaljevac-Šamac Šamac Odžak Vukosavlje
The political division of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the Republika Srpska in red (clickable map)

The Bosniak member of the three-person Bosnian-Herzegovinian State Presidium, Bakir Izetbegović, also party chairman of the SDA , lodged an appeal in 2013 with the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Constitutional Court against the national holiday of the Republika Srpska, which had existed since 1992. The basis of the complaint was that the proclamation of the Serbian Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina on January 9, 1992 had meant territorial separation from the other ethnic groups in the country. With the Serbian Republic a state of a dominant Serbian nation had been founded, with the exclusion and discrimination of other nationalities. In addition, January 9 not only points back to the founding date of the Republika Srpska in 1992, but is also the holiday of St. Stephen , which is mainly celebrated by the Orthodox Serbs .

The government of the Republika Srpska argued that January 9, 1992 was the founding date of the Republika Srpska and that the holiday therefore also existed, regardless of the holiday of St. Stephen. Nevertheless, the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Constitutional Court ruled on November 26, 2015 that January 9, as a national holiday, was not constitutional and should be postponed within six months. The court argued that the holiday excluded Muslim and Croatian residents in the republic. That the 9th January 1992, many Bosniaks and Croats mountains no positive memories, because at that time the country was split and the founding of the Republic of Srpska under the auspices of later convicted as a war criminal Radovan Karadzic was one of several points that ultimately the Bosnian war led, is not explicitly mentioned in the judgment, but was the subject of many analyzes and comments.

Milorad Dodik , the President of the Republika Srpska, did not accept the verdict ( "We will not implement the decision. The judges can rub it in their hair" ) and replied that the founding date could not be postponed and that the holiday had been going on since 1992 exists, i.e. it was celebrated at a time when the Bosnian-Herzegovinian constitutional court did not yet exist.

St. Stephen's Remembrance Day

St. Stephen's Day is celebrated in various Christian churches. In the Roman Catholic Church , Old Catholic Church , Lutheran Church and the Anglican Church , Remembrance Day falls on December 26th . The Greek Orthodox , Russian Orthodox and Serbian Orthodox Churches celebrate it one day later on December 27th .

Contrary to what the Constitutional Court stated, the feast day of St. Stephen originally does not fall on January 9 in any of the churches. The defenders of the national holiday point out that the Serbian Orthodox Church is so-called old calendars who celebrate their church holidays according to the Julian calendar instead of the Gregorian calendar. Accordingly, December 27 of the Julian calendar in 2016 is on January 9 of the Gregorian calendar. By December 27, 2100 at the latest, the conversion between the Julian and Gregorian calendar would mean that the feast day of St. Stephen would now be celebrated one day later, namely on January 10, 2101.

Legal admissibility

After the Republika Srpska announced the referendum, the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Constitutional Court ruled that this was not permissible. It referred to the decision of November 2015. The representatives of the Republika Srpska stated that the result of the referendum did not result in any legal obligations and that it was therefore nevertheless permissible.

The High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina , Valentin Inzko would be with the other members his powers, the so-called Bonn Powers have been able to depose Minister and affirm the decision of the Constitutional Court. However, he announced that, as in previous years, he would not make use of his powers.

The United States and the European Union , among others, spoke out against the referendum . The Serbian government under Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić also stated in advance that it did not support the referendum by the Bosnian Serbs.

The government of the Republika Srpska was strengthened by the government of the Russian Federation , most recently when Dodik visited Vladimir Putin three days before the referendum.

Eligible voters

Around 1,219,000 citizens of the Republika Srpska were entitled to vote, whereas the citizens of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (not to be confused with the state as a whole) were not entitled to vote. The possibility of postal voting for citizens living abroad did not exist, but in some countries in which the Republika Srpska maintains its own permanent economic representations, polling stations for citizens of the Republika Srpska, among others, in Germany, Serbia, Russia, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Election result

selection be right percent
Yes 677.721 99.81%
No 1,291 0.19%
Total of valid votes 679.012 99.84%
Invalid or blank ballot papers 1.104 0.16%
Total number of ballot papers submitted 680.116 100.0%
Registered voters and turnout 1,219,399 55.77%
Source: Al Jazeera Balkans

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Referendum o Danu RS-a: Glasalo 55.77 posto biračkog tijela. at balkans.aljazeera.net, accessed September 26, 2016
  2. ↑ balkans.aljazeera.net: Ustavni sud BiH: Dan Republike Srpske je neustavan. November 26, 2015, accessed September 28, 2016.
  3. ↑ a b The controversial national holiday referendum in the Republika Srpska , Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, 22 September 2016
  4. ↑ Serbian Playing with Fire , Die Tagespost, September 26, 2016
  5. ↑ https://www.ard-wien.de/2016/09/22/referendum-republika-srpska/
  6. ↑ http://www.vladars.net/sr-SP-Cyrl/Documents/stav%20vlade%20republike%20srpske%20o%20odluci%20ustavnog%20suda%20bih%20o%20referendumu%20o%20danu%20republike.pdf
  7. ↑ Yes to the controversial national holiday ( memento of the original from September 26, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , heute.de, September 26, 2016 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.heute.de
  8. ↑ Republika Srpska: Putin's Man in the Balkans , derstandard.at, September 26, 2016
  9. ↑ Kusturica: Danas je dan odbrane i naše kulture on oslobodjenje.ba, accessed on September 25, 2016

Web links