Betrayed Tihić, Bakir Rewarded Him with a Compensatory Mandate

Not so long ago, just a year and a half ago, Sulejman Tihić, the SDA president, at the party convention, when he and his deputy Bakir Izetbegović shared high intra-party positions equally, proposed the renewal of the mandate for the then, and still current, Secretary General Amir Zukić, writes Patria.

As a reminder, at the SDA Congress in May 2009, when Izetbegović lost to Tihić in the race for the party leader, Zukić was proposed for Secretary General by Tihić himself, who then offered him a new mandate for the same position four years later.

For those familiar with the BiH political scene, Zukić has always been considered Tihić's trusted man, his right-hand man. Practically, along with Asim Sarajlić, he was the leader of the "Tihić faction" within the SDA. At the 2009 Congress, the SDA president proposed Sarajlić as one of the vice-presidents, as he was one of his most active lobbyists against Izetbegović.

However, he too apparently chose between loyalty to the man who launched him into high politics and another well-paid four-year mandate as a state deputy, currying favor with Izetbegović to become the lead candidate for the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH.

The SDA president, due to the serious illness he has been battling for the past six months, has been almost entirely uninvolved in what has been happening within the SDA.

Realizing that he had no future if he didn't change his "boss," Amir Zukić (who is not much of a political caliber except for being an excellent subordinate), like Sarajlić, decided to change his allegiance.

Thus, as sources from the SDA tell us, he made a 180-degree turn and now Bakir Izetbegović is dearer to him than anyone else in the SDA.

Izetbegović the younger rewarded Zukić's loyalty, several completed tasks, and "dirty little jobs" with a compensatory mandate for the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of BiH.

On the list from electoral unit 11, the lead candidate is Denis Zvizdić, also a trusted man of Bakir, while Zukić is in fourth place. However, the fact that his loyalty has not gone unnoticed is evidenced by Bakir placing him as the lead candidate for the compensatory list, which means that regardless of how many votes he wins in the election, he is guaranteed a four-year mandate as a federal deputy.

One of those who did not wish to "betray" Tihić, and whom Izetbegović, given his rich political experience, had counted on winning over, is Adil Osmanović.

Osmanović was removed from the compensatory list of the "Domovina" coalition for the National Assembly of RS before the submission of lists, and the first position and guaranteed mandate went to Edin Ramić, Izetbegović's advisor in the cabinet of the BiH Presidency.

Thus, Osmanović, due to his persistence in returning the SDA to operating on the principles of the Convention and his displeasure with Izetbegović's autocracy within the SDA, was "punished" and given a consolation position as the lead candidate for the SDA for the NSRS in Electoral Unit 5. Whether he will pass is questionable, as it is a generally known fact that a very small number of Bosniaks in RS vote in elections. However, mandates for Sarajlić, Zukić, and Ramić are secured.