Party of Democratic Action

Fadil Novalic, the caretaker Prime Minister of Bosnia's Federation entity, was detained Thursday overnight by the state law enforcement agency SIPA together with the head of the Civil Protection and the owner of a private company as part of an investigation into the purchase of allegedly overpriced Chinese respirators. 

The US State Department has blacklisted Amir Zukic, a disgraced former high-ranking official of the main Bosniak Party of Democratic Action, SDA, for being involved in corruption.  

Asim Sarajlic, the deputy leader of the Party of Democratic Action, SDA, the strongest Bosniak party in the country, resigned on Monday evening after the leak of an audio file which allegedly revealed details of a corrupt deal involving party officials.

Valentin Inzko, the international community's High Representative to Bosnia, and Eric Nelson, the US ambassador to Sarajevo, have sent a letter to the government and assembly of a Canton in Bosnia's Federation entity, expressing alarm over moves to sack the local police commissioner.

Bakir Izetbegovic, the leader of the Party of Democratic Action, SDA and a member of the upper house of Bosnia's parliament, said on Tuesday that the leadership of the Bosnian Serbs will ultimately see the security value in joining NATO.

Even by these standards, though, political developments over the last month have been startling. To begin with, while we do not know the exact contours of the deal that finally allowed Tegeltija to assume his post, it is clear that a breakthrough was made about Bosnia's Atlantic accession prospects.

Yet some experts, officials and diplomats say future elections are almost irrelevant while local leaders continue to block the system, playing their lose-lose games.

To make matters worse, Bosnia's unfolding political drama is increasingly intertwined with other regional and international disputes, especially with the tensions between Serbia and Kosovo.

Bosniak politician Senad Bratic quit as vice-speaker of the assembly in Bosnia's Serb-dominated entity, Republika Srpska, RS, on Wednesday - after the party to which he belongs passed a controversial declaration at its recent party congress that landed him in hot political water.

They warn that years of political divisions, zero-sum games, distrust and poor communication between local leaders, as well as growing tensions among key regional and global actors, have left Bosnia a ticking time-bomb that could go off at any moment, leading to the collapse of the remaining joint institutions or even the breakup of the country.

The deadline agreed between the leaders of thre three main parties in Bosnia on forming a state-level government - the Party of Democratic Action, SDA, the Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, and the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, SNSD - expired on Thursday.