Bosnia’s top court confirms political ban on former Bosnian Serb leader

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SARAJEVO (Reuters) -Bosnia’s Constitutional Court said on Tuesday it had rejected appeals by Bosnian Serb nationalist leader Milorad Dodik against a verdict barring him from politics and against a decision to strip him of his mandate as a regional president.

Dodik, former president of Bosnia’s autonomous Serb Republic, was banned in February from holding political office for six years for defying rulings of the country’s international envoy and of the Constitutional Court.

Dodik, a pro-Russian nationalist who wants the Serb Republic to secede from Bosnia and join Serbia, also had to pay a fine.

His legal team had filed appeals to the Constitutional Court after electoral authorities removed him from his post.

The court said on Tuesday both appeals were without foundation since neither the verdict nor the decision had violated the constitution and existing laws.

Dodik said the court’s ruling was politically motivated.

Analysts say the ruling brings into question the legality of the Serb Republic’s reshuffled government as it was initiated by Dodik after he had already been stripped of his mandate but continued to hold the office and perform presidential duties.

The election commission called an early presidential vote in the Serb Republic on November 23. Dodik has nominated a candidate from his ruling SNSD party to run in the election.

Last month, in a surprise move, the ruling coalition dominated by Dodik’s party initiated a parliamentary vote to appoint an interim president and to annul a series of separatist laws. Soon afterwards, the U.S. Treasury Department lifted sanctions on Dodik, his family members and allies and companies related to them.

The U.S. State Department welcomed the parliament’s moves, saying they were the result of U.S.-led efforts “to defuse the crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina”.

(Reporting by Daria Sito-SucicEditing by Gareth Jones)