SDA-SBB Bloc Ready to Support Independent Candidate: Mayor of Sarajevo Dževad Bećirević

Three municipal councils Novi Grad, Novo Sarajevo and Stari Grad have completed the procedure of appointing councilors to the City Council of the City of Sarajevo.

At the session on December 29, seven councilors will also be elected by the Municipal Council Centar, so that the current Chairman of the City Council Suljo Agić will be able to convene the constituent session of the new convocation in January, Patria writes.

Given that the Central Election Commission of BiH has introduced novelties regarding the election of the mayor of Sarajevo, East Sarajevo, Mostar and Brčko District, who are elected indirectly in the councils, the new mayor of the capital of BiH could be awaited until February.

Unlike previous appointments, now the names of candidates must first go to the CEC for verification, which gives consent, after which 28 councilors of the City Council elect the new mayor.

For the new mayor, 15 councilors need to raise their hands.

Combinations are still being made and political negotiations are underway on who will form the majority in the City Council, which also depends on which political option the new mayor will come from, i.e., whether from the government or the opposition.

From the Municipal Council Novi Grad, mandates in the City Council were given to Edina Gabela (SDA), Lana Velić (DF), Sanela Fijuljanin (SBB), Enes Peštek (SDA), Bajro Biber (BOSS), Toni Vukadin (SDA) and Mira Jurić (SDU).

City councilors from Stari Grad are Abdulah Skaka (SDA), Vedran Dodik (Savez za Stari Grad), Dado Stojnić (DF), Vibor Handžić (Naša stranka), Srđan Simonović (SDA), Almedin Miladin (SDP), Adnan Talić (Prva nezavisna lista).

The Municipal Council Novo Sarajevo elected its seven councilors for the City Council, namely Igor Gavrić (SBB), Hazim Bahtanović (SDA), Reuf Hafizović (SDA), Barbara Strojl Peleš (Naša stranka), Miodrag Živanović (SDP), Srđan Srdić (independent councilor) and Snežana Omukić (DF).

The SDA-SBB bloc in the current mathematical combinations has 15 hands. That is, from Novi Grad five, from Novo Sarajevo four, from Stari Grad three, plus three they plan to have from Centar.

In inter-party negotiations, the coalition partners agreed that the position of mayor and one deputy mayor belong to SDA, and the other deputy mayor to SBB. The Chairman of the City Council will be from SBB, and two deputy chairmen from SDA.

So far, two names of candidates for mayor are known, Dževad Bećirević as an independent and Abdulah Skaka (SDA), with the realistic observation that the former head of the Centar municipality has greater chances of being elected.

One of the candidates for deputy mayor will most likely be Dejan Radović from SDA, and for Chairman of the City Council Igor Gavrić from SBB.