Efendić: The last bastion for everything is the Constitutional Court, and if we lose that mechanism, the statements from the US Embassy will be in vain

(Patria) - Who would we turn to and complain to if we got ethnic decision-making in the Constitutional Court of BiH, without foreign judges, asks the mayor of Sarajevo's Novi Grad municipality and president of the Party for BiH Semir Efendić.

Efendić commented on the assessment of the American Embassy that the state House of Peoples is in a "blockade" due to the absence of Bosniak delegates who refuse to have the item regarding the departure of foreign judges from the Constitutional Court of BiH placed on the session agenda.

- The last bastion for everything is the Constitutional Court, and we are aware that if we lose that mechanism, the statements from the American Embassy will be in vain - Efendić points out.

The Sarajevo mayor commented on the election results of his party in the show Dan uživo N1 televizije, boasting that they achieved a 100 percent growth.

It is difficult to stay at the head of a local community for so long without fatigue setting in, without citizens wanting change. What is your secret to success?

- That is precisely our greatest success, that after so much time we received the greatest support. It is proof that trust can be established and maintained between citizens and politicians.

With support of almost 75 percent, this is the greatest success for me and it gives us strength to achieve even more.

Do you have a plan for what to do in the next four years? Will the projects continue at the same pace as in the months before the elections?

- Of course, I have a very detailed plan and an adopted development strategy. I hope the situation in the Municipal Council will be better, which was not the case in the previous term.

Many decisions were withdrawn because there was no will. We have many projects prepared. It is interesting that in this local campaign, the Novi Grad Municipality was cited as an example of how things should be done.

On election night, you were congratulated by the president of NIP, Elmedin Konaković, but he also commented that you are not serious, that there is no agreement with you, that you are playing games with agreements, and that despite everything, you remained close to the SDA?

- I saw that part of the statement, it is very strange. He does not know best what he is saying, I think he is a bit lost after these elections.

Our reasons were clear (why they left the coalition with the Troika), let Schmidt make a decision as a constitutional amendment as a rule for every election of the FBiH Government, and not for one day because that is what the HDZ needed.

Everyone raised their hand against the Constitution and the oath they took. We did not want to agree to that. And of course, citizens eventually recognize that and punish it. Some cannot understand why we stick to our positions.

Some time ago, you took over SBiH, which at that time existed only on paper, and brought it back into the political spectrum. Are you satisfied with the party's results in these elections? You were close to victory in Novo Sarajevo as well. From your perspective, what decided that Benjamin Karić won?

- There is a bit of regret for that race in Novo Sarajevo. There were candidates who disrupted it, like the former mayor Koldža. I wish he had not been in that race, maybe the result would have been different.

I think the combined result of Bandić and me was very impressive. I personally had more votes than all three Troika mayors in the municipalities of Stari Grad, Centar, and Novo Sarajevo combined.

SBiH had only one councilor in the previous term in the Canton of Sarajevo, and now 31. In the Tuzla Canton, we have one mayor and 22 or 23 councilors. As for BiH, there will be close to 80 councilors, the number of votes is 50 or 60 thousand. Growth is 100 percent compared to the 2022 elections.

SDA and DF did not achieve what they set out to do at the beginning of the campaign. What do you think is the reason for that? Some say that SBiH would have done better if it had not been part of that coalition?

- I think our candidate in Novo Sarajevo achieved a good result because he was up against the mayor. We were very close.

I cannot comment on the rest. As for SBiH, we made no mistake in any way because we had such good results.

Delegates from the Bosniak Club, including Džemal Smajić from the party you lead, again refused to attend the continuation of the regular session announced by the Chairman of the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, Dragan Čović. It seems the House of Peoples will only meet in emergency sessions. Do you support this blockade, as the American Embassy called it?

- I do not consider this a blockade because the House of Peoples had a session, and if it were blocked, it would not be working. Let them call a session without that item on the Constitutional Court, and the Bosniak delegates will come. However, for some reason, they insist on continuing the session with this item.

Criticism is also coming from the US Embassy in BiH due to the blockades. They say that the blockade of institutions at the state level is "anti-Dayton activity"?

- The Dayton Agreement prescribes the quorum of the House of Peoples because there is a reason for it (the quorum necessary for decision-making in the House of Peoples consists of nine delegates, provided that at least three Bosniak, three Croatian, and three Serbian delegates are present, and according to the House's Rules of Procedure, decisions in the House are made by a majority vote of the delegates present and voting).

The last bastion for everything is the Constitutional Court, and we are aware that if we lose that mechanism, the statements from the American Embassy will be in vain.

We have a very bad experience with the Law on Residence, you see that Bosniaks are disappearing in the RS, and the mayor of Srebrenica is chosen for us by citizens from Serbia.

Once someone was so careless and allowed it to pass, and then the Constitutional Court accepted such a Law (on residence). Who would we turn to and complain to if we got ethnic decision-making in the Constitutional Court, without foreign judges?