East New Sarajevo: DNS Candidate Dejan Seselj Arrested
DNS candidate for Bosnia's Parliamentary Assembly Dejan Seselj was arrested in East New Sarajevo on drug possession charges, and party leader Nenad Nesic has demanded his dismissal.
Dejan Seselj, a candidate of the Democratic People’s Alliance (DNS) for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Parliamentary Assembly, was arrested on Tuesday, August 25, in East New Sarajevo, two months before the country’s general election set for October. For Belgrade and Republika Srpska, the case is more than a local police report: DNS sits in Republika Srpska’s National Assembly as part of the ruling coalition with the SNSD, and its list for the state parliament directly affects how many votes from Republika Srpska go to parties aligned with Banja Luka, and by extension Belgrade, inside BiH’s joint institutions.
According to media reports, Seselj was found to be under the influence of drugs during a routine police check, with substances discovered both on his person and in his vehicle. He was ordered held for 24 hours following the arrest. Police have not yet issued an official statement on the case, and the information reported so far has come from sources close to the investigation.
Who is Dejan Seselj, and what job did he actually hold
Sources disagree on the exact position Seselj held before his arrest. Radiosarajevo reports that he was removed as director of the Bistrica Hydropower Plant (HE Bistrica) several months ago but stayed on at the company as an adviser to the director. Klix.ba, citing a statement from Nenad Nesic, writes that Seselj is HE Bistrica’s executive director for finance, meaning he remained in a management role right up until the arrest. Neither outlet cites an official company document, so his actual status at this point cannot be confirmed with certainty.
What is not in dispute is that he is a DNS official whose name appears on the party’s list for the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina in electoral unit 3.
Nesic calls for immediate dismissal
DNS president Nenad Nesic reacted publicly the same day, calling on HE Bistrica’s supervisory board to remove Seselj from his post at once.
“I am calling on the HE Bistrica supervisory board to immediately dismiss Dejan Seselj from the position of executive director for finance, because he must bear responsibility for his actions and does not deserve to hold a public office,” Nesic said.
Nesic added that he had spoken with Seselj the same day, and that Seselj told him he would resign from his post at HE Bistrica. “And I am calling on the supervisory board to remove him from his duties,” the DNS leader said, adding that the party leadership would decide Seselj’s fate within the next seven days: “As far as DNS is concerned, the DNS Presidency will make a decision on his future in the party at its first session, to be held within the next seven days.”
Nesic also said that public life must carry accountability, and that everyone has to bear the consequences of their actions.
What comes next before the October election
The DNS Presidency will decide at a session within the next seven days whether Seselj stays on the party’s list for the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina or is withdrawn from it. The decision is politically sensitive, coming at a moment when every party in Republika Srpska is counting every seat ahead of the general election in October, and the case of a well known official arrested over drugs, two months before the vote, will be hard to keep out of public view in the electoral unit where he is running.
There is still no confirmation on whether criminal charges have been filed against Seselj, or when police in East Sarajevo might issue an official statement. Until then, the last official word on his fate, both at the company and in the party, remains what Nesic himself announced: a resignation from his post at HE Bistrica and a decision from the DNS Presidency within seven days.
