SDS Chief Cavic Quits After Party Board Withdraws Support

Dragan Cavic has resigned as leader of the nationalist Serb Democratic Party (SDS) after the party's governing board passed a no-confidence motion against him at a meeting in Banja Luka on Tuesday.

The board's move followed the SDS's poor performance in Bosnia-Herzegovina's general elections of 1 October 2006. Members were also angered by Cavic's earlier decision to dissolve the SDS-led Bosnian Serb government and hand the governing mandate to Milorad Dodik's Party of Independent Social-Democrats (SNSD).

The SNSD went on to win those elections, and Dodik ally Milan Jelic subsequently took over from Cavic as president of the Srpska Republic, the Bosnian Serb entity.

The SDS, founded by former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, who faces war crimes charges, had long dominated politics in the Srpska Republic and held the leading Bosnian Serb positions in Bosnia-Herzegovina's state-level institutions. The 2006 vote ended that dominance, replacing SDS officeholders with SNSD representatives across the board.

Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in November 2006, in its own words.