Troika Candidates Serving Čović: Our Party 'Helps' HDZ in Jajce and Kiseljak, SDP in Gornji Vakuf

By: Istraga.ba

In all cities of the Central Bosnia Canton (SBK), where there is a chance that due to the "division" of Bosniak votes, the candidate of HDZ BiH wins, the Troika parties have candidates for mayor. Where the victory of the HDZ candidate is certain, Naša stranka, SDP, and NiP do not have candidates.

Thus, for example, in Kreševo, where the victory of HDZ BiH in the race for mayor is undisputed, there will be only one candidate. And that is the HDZ candidate Boris Marić. A similar situation is in Dobretići. Both candidates are from the "Croatian bloc". It is identical in Vitez. The Troika parties do not have a candidate in this city.

The reason is that the sum of Croatian votes is higher by about 500, and a potential candidacy from Naša stranka and SDP could jeopardize the certain victory of the HNS candidate. Thus, in Vitez, Boris Marjanović, the joint candidate of HDZ BiH, HDZ 1990, HSS Stjepan Radić, and Mujo Trako (SDA) are competing for the position of mayor. In the local elections in 2020, the HDZ candidate won with 5,710 votes. The SDA candidate won 5,254.

However, where HDZ's interests are threatened, the Troika has decided to have its candidate. The best example is Jajce.

In the Local Elections of 2020, Naša stranka did not even participate in the elections in Jajce. The Municipal Board of the party was founded only in March 2024. Redžo Kurić was appointed president of the Municipal Board of Naša stranka in Jajce. Kurić is precisely the Troika's candidate for mayor of Jajce.

Three candidates applied for the position of mayor of Jajce Municipality. SDA nominated Edin Hozan, HDZ nominated Božana Bilandžija, and the Troika, as we said, nominated Redžo Kurić from Naša stranka.

According to the election results of the repeated elections in Jajce (December 2020), 12,000 voters voted in that city. Edin Hozan from SDA won 6,271 votes at the time, while the HDZ candidate Anto Brtan won 4,624, and Ismar Halilović from NiP won 1,082 votes.

Therefore, there are about 7,300 Bosniak votes and about 4,624 "Croatian" votes. If the Bosniak votes are divided equally, the victory of the HDZ candidate is certain. And thanks to the party that formed its board in Jajce in March of this year, after officially becoming part of the coalition with HDZ.

Now let's go to Kiseljak. HDZ has about 5,300 votes available in that city. For the opponents of HDZ in the last Local Elections, 3,500 voters voted. Even if there were only one opponent to the HDZ candidate, there are slim chances of "taking" Kiseljak away from Dragan Čović's party. However, the Troika parties have decided to nominate Anel Topalović, a cadre of Naša stranka.

In the Local Elections four years ago, Naša stranka won 250 votes in Kiseljak. However, this did not prevent them from having their candidate who, in fact, killed any possible chance for pro-Bosniak parties in Kiseljak. The SDA candidate in Kiseljak is Armin Halilović, and the HDZ candidate is Mladen Mišurić-Ramljak.

Novi Travnik is the best indicator of the Troika's actions in SBK. In the 2020 elections, 11,520 voters voted in that city. All parties with a Croatian affiliation have about 5,000 votes. There are about 6,300 pro-Bosniak voters. However, HDZ's Stjepan Dujo was elected mayor of Novi Travnik because the pro-Bosniak votes were divided among three (two independent candidates and NiP). SDA won 2,333 votes in 2020. SDP and NiP won 2,200. Naša stranka did not even have a list.

In total, SDA, SBiH, and DF won about 4,200 votes in the race for the Municipal Council. These parties, therefore, lack about 800 votes to "push through" their mayor. However, the Troika has decided to split the pro-Bosniak votes again. Thus, Asmir Brljak (SDP), Eldin Delić (SDA), and Stjepan Dujo (HDZ BIH) are now in the race for the mayor of Novi Travnik. If the Bosniak votes are divided, HDZ BiH will "defend" Novi Travnik, even though the HNS parties have fewer voters in total than the so-called pro-Bosniak parties.

In the Local Elections of 2020, HDZ BiH lost Gornji Vakuf by only 135 votes, a city that was under siege by HVO and the Croatian Army during the aggression against BiH. The SDA candidate won 3,877 votes in 2020, and the HDZ candidate won 3,742. The SDP candidate won 2,245.

If we look at the votes for the Municipal Council, we see that the so-called pro-Bosniak parties have almost twice as many votes as HDZ (pro-Bosniak 6,000, HDZ 3,700). However, duplicating candidates in the so-called pro-Bosniak bloc could lead to HDZ taking over Gornji Vakuf. In the race for mayor of Gornji Vakuf, SDA is sending Esmin Hajdarević as the head of the Municipality, while the candidate for HDZ BiH is Marin Novaković. The Troika's candidate is Edin Gekić from SDP.