Čavka: Since 2004, we have had no councillors in the City Assembly; Bosniaks in Banja Luka are left to their own devices

Bosniaks in Banja Luka are completely left to their own devices. Since 2004, they have had no councillor in the City Assembly to advocate for them and protect their interests. Therefore, this year, three parties have united and created a joint list, the Coalition for Banja Luka (SDA, SBB, and Party of BiH), headed by Admir Čavka. The list includes 20 candidates, writes the Patria News Agency.

At a pre-election rally held in the Banja Luka settlement of Vrbanja, more than 200 Bosniaks gathered in one place for the first time since the war, giving their support to the Coalition.  

-In the last local elections in 2012, these three parties ran with separate lists, votes were scattered unnecessarily, and Bosniaks had no chance of winning even one seat. This year, we expect to win two councillor seats, and even with one seat, we will gain the position of the President of the City Assembly, which will mean a huge step forward and will be a strong message to Bosniaks in Banja Luka that they still have someone of their own who will advocate for their rights, Admir Čavka told NAP.

Čavka says that numerous reasons have led to the precarious position of Bosniaks in the city on the Vrbas river.

-I entered this political endeavor for one reason, and that is the 2020 local elections. In the next four years, with the help of friends across Europe and the USA, and primarily in Banja Luka, I will commit myself to the maximum extent to the mass registration of Bosniaks, who have fallen into complete lethargy when it comes to elections. Around 12,000 Bosniaks live in Banja Luka, and about 30,000 are displaced across the West. More than 20,000 people have the right to vote, and they need to be motivated now, Čavka explains.  

The elections on October 2nd will be, he says, a springboard for the next ones, which will be held in 2020. So far, he has established cooperation with numerous associations of Banja Luka residents outside the borders of our country.

-We have enormous potential in the diaspora. Among them are people who are professors at prestigious universities, lead large companies, successful and affirmed individuals, and they want to help their city. Many of them are ready to invest in the city of Banja Luka, but of course, when the conditions are met. It is precisely with a team of educated young people that we have started this endeavor, which aims to achieve a good result in the elections to be held in 2020.

We have divided this process into several stages. Primarily, we will fight for the employment of returnees, the restoration of the names of settlements and streets, and the resolution of infrastructural problems in settlements where returnees live.

We will do everything to become a factor, to decide on our own destiny in our city, to decide on the future of our children. I invite all Banja Luka residents to join our political project, says Čavka, who thanks the Bosniaks in the diaspora whose votes for the candidates of the Coalition for Banja Luka list have already started to arrive.