Would Čović have reacted if Croats, like Bosniaks, had their own candidate for mayor in Stolac

By: Edina Latif

The repeated local elections in Stolac have passed. There were no surprises. With the elimination of Salmir Kaplan as a candidate, the path was opened for Stjepan Bošković, who is now entering his fourth term as mayor.

The HDZ is expected to have eight councilors, the Initiative for Stolac seven, the HSP-HDZ 1990 one, and independent Vidoje Maslić one.

Information from the field indicates that there were no incidents this time, unlike on October 2 last year, when the electoral process was interrupted.

Regardless of the fact that Stolac will get a new government, yesterday's elections were not held in a democratic atmosphere.

The streets of this beautiful Herzegovinian town were full of special police. Representatives of the international community, the head of the OSCE Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Jonathan Moore, and the first deputy high representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bruce Berton, were also in Stolac.

The lack of democracy was also reflected in the fact that there was not a single Bosniak candidate for mayor.

Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina and leader of the HDZ BiH, Dragan Čović, immediately congratulated Stjepan Bošković on his election for a new term at the head of the Stolac municipality and promised help to the local community from all levels of government.

- I congratulate, first of all, on the well-organized elections that prevented any incidents and riots, and prevented Stolac from becoming a city of chance, said Čović.

How would the only "protector of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina," Dragan Čović, have reacted if, for example, the situation were reversed - if, by any chance, due to the provisions of the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a Croatian candidate had been prevented from participating in the repeated elections in Stolac, and only Bosniaks had their candidate.

Čović would certainly have spoken out and, protecting "democracy," would have tried to block the holding of elections in Stolac until the provisions of the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina regulating the issue of repeated elections and the removal of candidates from lists were changed. It would have been pure majorization of Croats, Čović would have said.

As it is, he is full of praise, congratulating on the well-organized elections and Bošković on his victory. Not a word about the possibility that the Election Law should be changed, because Stolac is an example that one constituent people can be left without their candidate and prevented from proposing another.

And finally, Čović says that the repeated elections prevented Stolac from becoming a city of chance. Unfortunately, this beautiful Herzegovinian town became a city of chance on October 2 last year, thanks precisely to the direction and script signed by the HDZ BiH and its leader. The elections in Stolac were not fair, they were not in the spirit of democracy. Bosniaks were denied their candidate for mayor. No one is talking about the endangerment of Bosniaks in Stolac.