The presidents of the six leading parliamentary parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday reached agreement on the formation of the new government after more than 14 months of unsuccessful negotiations.
After three-hour closed-door talks in Sarajevo, Party of Democratic Action (SDA) president Sulejman Tihic told the press they had agreed that the new chairman of the Council of Ministers should be nominated by the HDZ BiH party.
The new prime minister's name has not been disclosed, but HDZ BiH president Dragan Covic said it would be known tomorrow. He added that during today's meeting, Social Democratic Party (SDP) president Zlatko Lagumdzija had suggested that Covic should be the new PM.
The HDZ BiH will also nominate the justice minister. The HDZ 1990 will nominate the new refugees minister. The foreign minister's post, in which several parties were interested, will go to the SDP and it is certain that it will be filled by Lagumdzija.
"Nobody got what they wanted but it's good that this has finally been solved," said Alliance of Independent Social Democrats president Milorad Dodik, who had been making agreement on the new government conditional on his party or the Serb Democratic Party nominating the new foreign minister.
In the end, the parties from the Serb entity agreed to nominate the deputy foreign minister, the finance minister, the civil affairs minister, and the foreign trade minister.
The SDP and the SDA will nominate the ministers of defence, security, and transport and communications.
The six parties also agreed on the heads of some 70 state agencies and on a framework budget for 2011 so that a decision could be legally adopted on the country's provisional financing in the first three months of 2012, until the new Council of Ministers drafts the 2012 budget.
The six parties also agreed on some reform bills on which the European Union insists and which have to be enacted into law by the parliament. They refer to a population census and state aid.
The next step in government formation is up to the state Presidency, which nominates the PM designate who has to be approved by the state parliament's lower house.
Before today's meeting, Presidency member Bakir Izetbegovic said the state leaders were ready to nominate the PM designate in the next three days.
