AFFAIRS AND ARRESTS Founder of ZNG Damir Marjanović leaves KS Assembly, will Kalamujić and Mesihović be dismissed from KS Government?

Damir Marjanović, one of the founders of the Movement for New Generations, will leave the Sarajevo Canton Assembly, and the Central Election Commission should award the mandate to the next candidate on the list, Tarik Jažić.

Marjanović confirmed to Faktor that everything has its expiration date and that it is time to step down.

"Tarik Jažić will be far better than me. He has some new visions and I believe he will be successful in the KS Assembly. I should have left the KS Assembly earlier, but younger colleagues insisted that I stay, and I think now is the time for him to take my place. Everything has its expiration date, and I think it's time for me to step down," said Marjanović.

Otherwise, Marjanović is permanently employed in Zagreb, where he has been the director of the Institute of Anthropology since September 2023.

At the 2022 General Elections, Jažić received 770 votes on the list for the KS Assembly, and he was also a candidate for the mayor of Centar Sarajevo municipality in the last local elections.

This development also raises the question of the reconstruction of the Sarajevo Canton Government, which includes two ministers from ZNG, Minister of Finance of KS Afan Kalamujić and suspended Minister of Science, Higher Education and Youth Adna Mesihović. She was arrested in April this year as part of the "Envelope" operation, and the KS Prosecutor's Office suspects her of abuse of position, i.e., illegal employment in the Ministry. She spent two months in custody, and in June, restrictive measures were imposed on her. KS Prime Minister Nihad Uk proposed extending her suspension, given that she is prohibited from contacting witnesses. This Ministry is headed by the Minister of Justice and Administration, Darja Softić-Kadenić (Our Party).

Otherwise, Mesihović also managed to damage the relations between the KS Government and the University of Sarajevo, and together with the Cantonal Administration for Inspection Affairs, she tried to dispute the election of UNSA Rector Tarik Zaimović. The entire case ended up in court, and due to this situation, Kalamujić and Mesihović blocked the payment of salaries for 2,700 employees at the University of Sarajevo in December. The Municipal Court in Sarajevo registered the rector, while an administrative dispute with the Ministry is still ongoing.

Certain documentation was also seized from the KS Ministry of Finance during May, and illegal employment is also suspected.

Along with Mesihović, Dženita Viteškić, assistant minister for higher education, a ZNG cadre, was arrested, as well as Ibrahim Obhođaš, also a cadre of this party. Obhođaš was even a candidate for the director of the Agency for Development of Higher Education and Quality Assurance (HEA), but that competition was annulled, and the documentation he submitted did not meet the competition requirements. Obhođaš was also a member of the Management Board of the KS Employment Service, headed by Amina Džonlagić, who is also from ZNG.

It should also be reminded that Zlatko Miletić was part of ZNG, and on May 8, 2025, he informed the leadership of the House of Peoples in writing that from that date he would act as an independent delegate, although he had been distanced from ZNG for months.

Marjanović's departure, who managed to secure two ministries in the KS Government, even though he has only one vote in the KS Assembly, could trigger a reconstruction of the KS Government.

The biggest advocate for expelling the Party of Democratic Action from the KS Government and bringing in ZNG was the head of NIP, Elmedin Konaković.

The beginning of September could bring another reconstruction of the KS Government.

The Trojka parties, with Elza Gaković, Admel Hodžić, and Arijan Memić, have 20 votes, which is a sufficient majority for decision-making in the KS Assembly.

In accordance with the decision to leave the KS Assembly, a replacement delegate will also have to be elected in the Club of Croats of the House of Peoples of the Parliament of FBiH.

(A. Vrabac)