MILIĆ: TURN ELECTORAL LEGITIMACY INTO INSTITUTIONAL STABILITY

BANJA LUKA, OCTOBER 6 /SRNA/ - The general elections have demonstrated the democratic and institutional maturity of Republika Srpska, while the electoral legitimacy given by citizens to their representatives must now be transformed into political stability, strong institutions and concrete public policies, Executive Director of the Centre for Strategic Planning and Public Policies in Republika Srpska Stefan Milić said.

Speaking to SRNA, Milić noted that elections, in the original meaning of democracy - derived from the ancient Greek words demos, meaning people, and kratos, meaning rule - are a moment when political power once again seeks its justification in the will of the citizens.

"That is why elections should be viewed as a celebration of democracy. After years of political and legal turmoil, citizens have once again had the opportunity to directly determine the direction of political development. The citizens' vote is the strongest source of democratic legitimacy, and no political or extra-institutional intervention can permanently replace it," Milić stressed.

He pointed out that this year's elections also marked the biggest technological advance in the electoral process in BiH, through the widespread use of biometric voter identification, ballot scanners and electronic transmission of results.

"New technologies cannot by themselves create a perfect electoral system, but they have significantly narrowed the scope for conventional forms of electoral abuse and increased the verifiability of results. This is an important step towards restoring citizens' trust in the electoral process," Milić said.

According to him, the elections' particular political significance lies in the fact that Republika Srpska overcame an extremely complex period, marked by judicial and political proceedings against Milorad Dodik, the termination of his presidential mandate and his inability to run for office, without an institutional vacuum.

"Regardless of the different legal and political interpretations of these events, Republika Srpska has demonstrated institutional resilience. The political conflict has been returned to where it belongs in a democracy - before the citizens and at the ballot box. This is an important prerequisite for the political stabilization of Republika Srpska," Milić assessed.

He stressed that following the elections, a more serious debate must also begin on the future of BiH without permanent foreign political tutelage.

"Three decades after Dayton, we must build a system in which domestic institutions make decisions, elected representatives bear responsibility, and citizens reward or punish them at elections. Democracy loses its full meaning if the will of voters can subsequently be substituted by political decisions coming from outside democratically elected institutions," Milić said.

He added that the focus must now shift from the election campaign and a policy of permanent crisis to the economy, demographics, infrastructure, education, modernization of public administration and the preservation of the constitutional position of Republika Srpska.

"Elections produce legitimacy, institutions give it form, and the results of government give it its ultimate meaning. The citizens have spoken. Now the harder part of democracy begins - justifying their trust," Milić concluded.