The Bosniak Party (BS) has decided to join the reconstructed government of Montenegro, as confirmed by Prime Minister Milojko Spajić and the main board of the party in July.

Additionally, members of the Pro-European Democratic Front (DF), led by Assembly President Andrija Mandić and member Milan Knežević, will also be part of the government.

Spajić’s administration was established in late October of last year, marking the third of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) since the shift in August 2020.

Initially, the Bosniak Party, which had been a long-time ally of the DPS, declined to join the first government formed after the transition. However, they held three positions in the second government led by Dritan Abazović.

The current parliamentary majority has required the Bosniak Party to sever local coalitions with the DPS in order to join Spajić’s bloc.

Ervina Ibrahimović’s party is expected to be allocated five ministries and one vice president position within the government.

Ibrahimović is anticipated to become the new Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Colleagues from his party will take over the ministries responsible for Diaspora, Social Care, Demography, as well as Mining, Oil and Gas, and Regional Investment Development in conjunction with Non-Governmental Organizations.

These departments will largely be created by reallocating responsibilities from existing ministries.

According to prior announcements, the DF parties are also expected to receive one vice president and four ministries, including education, tourism, spatial planning, and transportation.

To date, the current government has included five vice presidential roles and 19 ministries, comprising a coalition of Milojka Spajić’s European Movement (PES), the Democrats led by Alekse Bečić, the Socialist People’s Party (SNP), and various Albanian national parties.

The Bosniak Party and the DF parties entering the government have historically held starkly opposing views on issues relating to war crimes and their relationship with Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The former Democratic Front members, Andrija Mandić and Milan Knežević, have previously denied the genocide in Srebrenica that occurred in 1995, alongside former leaders of Republika Srpska, Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić, both convicted by the Hague Tribunal for genocide and crimes against humanity.

They have also strongly opposed Montenegro’s support for the resolution regarding the Srebrenica genocide, adopted on May 23.

The Bosniak Party criticized the visit of Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik to Montenegro’s Parliament, led by Andrija Mandić, in February of this year.

“Secessionist policies in BiH, their promoters, and proxies for Russian interests should not receive the endorsement of official Montenegro,” asserted the Bosniak Party.

The presence of DF leaders celebrating Republika Srpska was viewed as a message endorsing “genocide, ethnic cleansing, and other war crimes attributed to the so-called Republika Srpska.”

A response from Damir Šehović, leader of the Social Democrats, was among the first to address the Bosniak Party’s decision to partner with the DF.

“The decision of the Bosniak Party to join forces with extreme and regressive political structures represents the antithesis of progress, which, I believe, will be met with significant disapproval from a large portion of the public,” stated Šehović.

The Assembly session to vote on the government reconstruction is set to be held on July 23.