SARAJEVO, Aug.18 (Xinhua) -- The Appellate Division of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) on Monday dismissed Milorad Dodik's appeal against the Central Election Commission's (CEC) decision to revoke his mandate as president of Republika Srpska (RS) and to call early elections for the entity's presidency in the coming months.

On Aug. 1, the BiH court upheld a one-year prison sentence for Dodik, barring him from political office for six years, confirming his conviction for refusing to implement decisions issued by the Office of the High Representative (OHR). The CEC subsequently adopted a decision on Aug. 6 to revoke his mandate as president and to schedule early elections.

Although Dodik's lawyers argued the CEC's decision lacked legal grounds, the court rejected the appeal and made the CEC decision legally binding on Monday.

Following the ruling of the court, Dodik said in Banja Luka, the administrative center of the RS, that early elections would not be held in the RS. He also announced plans for two referendums to decide the fate of himself and the entity.

The OHR, an international body established under the Dayton Peace Agreement that ended the 1992-1995 war, holds sweeping "Bonn powers" that allow the High Representative to impose laws and dismiss officials in BiH. However, since taking office in 2021, the High Representative Christian Schmidt has frequently applied "Bonn powers" to impose legal changes, drawing criticism in BiH.

Dodik has served as president of Republika Srpska since 2022.

BiH consists of two autonomous entities, Republika Srpska, with a predominantly Serbian population, and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, mainly inhabited by Bosniaks and Croats. The two entities operate under a weak central government. ■