How HDZ BiH Tries to Control the Entire Croatian Electorate Through HNS

By: A. Aljović

The Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HDZ BiH) is currently the leading political party of Bosnian-Herzegovinian Croats. According to data from the Central Election Commission during the last General Elections in BiH in 2016, they won around 105,000 votes. While the strongest opposition Croatian party in BiH, HDZ 1990, received almost 30,000 votes.

Considering the electoral machinery that HDZ BiH has, and which HDZ 1990 and other parties with a Croatian prefix in BiH do not, it is clear that the difference between these two parties is not as drastic, striking, or clear as the election results show.

The electoral result of HDZ BiH is largely imposed by force, while other Croatian parties in BiH are not in a position to gain votes in such a way. Their votes come 'naturally'.

According to data from the Central Election Commission, only slightly more than 50 percent of voters turn out for elections in BiH, out of the total electorate in the country, which is around 3,263,000. The results that will soon be presented to the public will show that among those 50 percent of voters who turn out for elections, the most staunch voters are from HDZ BiH and SDA. Research results that have not yet been published, but which have been shown to certain journalists, will also indicate that with an increase in the percentage of citizens turning out for elections in BiH, the popularity of HDZ and SDA drastically falls, while the popularity of left-oriented parties rises.

To overcome the problem of unpopularity among 50 percent of voters within the Croatian electorate, and especially unpopularity among Croats in Bosnia, HDZ BiH reactivated the non-governmental organization Croatian National Assembly (HNS BiH) in 2011, headed by the president of HDZ BiH, Dragan Čović. HNS was first founded in 2000, but ceased operations two years later, after HDZ BiH won power. With the loss of power and going into opposition, HDZ BiH revived this non-governmental organization.

In the Bosnian-Herzegovinian public, HDZ BiH tries to impose the thesis that the opinion of HNS is actually a pan-Croatian, general Croatian, all-Croatian opinion. The truth is quite different. HDZ BiH promotes its own ideas through HNS.

Slavo Kukić, a university professor from Mostar, also warns that HDZ BiH, through HNS, has absorbed almost all other Croatian parties in BiH. In an interview for Oslobođenje in July this year, he called HNS BiH the fig leaf of HDZ BiH.

"HNS is HDZ's fig leaf, and there are people in HDZ 1990 who are for leaving this non-governmental organization, which is trying to be given the status of a parallel political institution. Whether they will have the strength is a question, but I think it would bring them an increase in political influence. Because, by doing so, they would show that they are an alternative to a crazy political project," said Professor Kukić.

To the observation of a Patria news agency journalist that Croats in BiH once had the opportunity to vote for several parties, but in the meantime HDZ, especially recently through HNS, has completely "swallowed" those parties, and to the question of how this happened and how Croats allowed a non-governmental organization HNS to represent them at the federal and state levels, the president of the newly formed Croatian Party of BiH, Božo Skopljaković, said that HS BiH has no intention of being part of HNS as long as a party official is at the head of this citizens' association.

"All other parties decide for themselves and are responsible to their voters who certainly "see" that their parties are actually "not seen" through HNS. At the next General Elections in 2018, Croats will have the opportunity, for now, to vote for at least two parties, one of which is HS BiH."

Vjekoslav Bakula, a representative of HDZ 1990 in the Federal Parliament, left the session of the House of Representatives in mid-June after the deputy speaker of this house, HDZ's Mladen Bošković, referred to the Club of Croatian Parties as the HDZ BiH – HNS club.

Bakula tried to explain that there is no HDZ BiH – HNS club in Parliament, but rather a Club composed of five Croatian parties (HDZ BiH, HSS, HKDU BiH, HSP dr. Ante Starčević, HSP Herceg-Bosne), which have their own names, but his remarks were not taken into account, after which he left the hall.

"HDZ 1990 is the founder of HNS, but HDZ BiH is clearly abusing it, and in a very brazen way," Bakula told the Patria agency after leaving the session.

By abusing HNS, HDZ BiH and Dragan Čović are now also trying to present the amendments to the Election Law in BiH as the stance of HNS. "HNS BiH should, like MOST in Croatia, set conditions for the election of authorities," is the latest message from HDZ BiH through the mouth of HNS.