Denis Bećirović: Civic parties should have one candidate for the BiH Presidency

BiH, (Patria) - State MP and Vice-President of SDP BiH Denis Bećirović sent a press release clarifying his position on candidacies for the BiH Presidency member and the possibility that he himself be nominated as the Bosniak member of the Presidency.

We are transmitting Bećirović's letter in its entirety:

Democratic and civic parties in the BiH entity FBiH should jointly nominate one candidate for the BiH Presidency member. For the future of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, one should not be exclusive about which party or which nation this one candidate will be from. Two candidates for the BiH Presidency member is a sign that the project of a united approach by civic parties will not happen in 2018 either.

Every voter in the BiH entity FBiH has only ONE VOTE FOR ONE CANDIDATE and it is not difficult to see what confusion and bewilderment would be caused by the fact that civic forces nominate TWO CANDIDATES FOR THE BiH PRESIDENCY MEMBER.

When it comes to the candidate for the BiH Presidency member in the BiH entity RS, my position is that SDP BiH should not have a candidate for the BiH Presidency in this entity. The arguments for this thesis are numerous and I will not list them now.

A large number of well-intentioned individuals from various parties, groups, organizations, associations, and media have been asking me questions about my candidacy for the BiH Presidency in recent weeks. This is the first time I am publicly expressing my opinion on this issue.

For the future of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, democratic, civic, and true pro-Bosnian political forces must reach an agreement on a joint appearance in the General Elections 2018. Within this, it is necessary to reach an inter-party agreement on one joint candidate of civic and democratic parties for the BiH Presidency.

Therefore, I want to emphasize the following five points:

- I sincerely believe that personal interests must not be above general interests;
- I am not part of the problem, but part of the solution, and therefore I will do everything to ensure that civic forces reach an agreement on one joint candidate for the BiH Presidency;
- I am not exerting any pressure, nor am I burdening anyone in the process of reaching a joint candidate;
- I will decisively continue to support and encourage the continuation of dialogue and agreement among civic and democratic political forces;
- I am not asking for anything for myself and I will do everything to ensure that the policy of reason, responsibility, dialogue, and unification wins, because personal interests must be absolutely subordinate to the interests of the citizens and peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

I am deeply aware that anyone's personal ambition, ego, exclusivity, disagreement, or animosity towards someone must not be an obstacle to agreement and joint action by democratic and civic forces in the General Elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2018.

It is time to stop harmful insinuations, speculations, and accusations. We must enable civic and democratic parties to reach the best programmatic and personnel solutions in peace, soberly, and responsibly. None of us has the right to ultimatums and pressure. We should all work every day as if we are at the beginning of our work.

Citizens of our country must know that it is very harmful if we constantly link the fight for the preservation and affirmation of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina with some position or candidacy.

We have no homeland other than Bosnia and Herzegovina, and all of us must be its advocates and candidates, each in our own way. If we only personalize this fight, which is unfortunately a favorite discipline for some, it will not be good for us or for the state.

There are no unimportant people, unimportant jobs, unimportant professions, unimportant candidacies... There are only those who are dedicated to their work and those who are not.

Therefore, let's not immediately associate every sincere commitment to preserving the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina with a candidacy for any position. Surely a person can honestly do their entrusted job and defend their homeland without talking about any candidacy. Numerous generations of BiH patriots have done this before us, just as they will do it after us. Let us be worthy of our best ancestors.

The aforementioned positions are my personal positions and have already been presented to the bodies of SDP BiH.