WHO (WILL NOT) BE IN THE GOVERNMENT OF CANTON SARAJEVO? Can SDP, NIP and Our Party form a government with 18 votes in the Cantonal Assembly?

Written by: Amra Vrabac 

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After the recent turbulence on the political scene due to the election of state delegates to the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and announcements that the SDP BiH will put its partners „in their place“, relations within the eight-party coalition have further complicated.

Formally, since the formation of the government at the state level, from which NES, SBiH and For New Generations withdrew, it is called „the trio plus“. The state government was formed by coalition partners SDP BiH, NIP, Our Party, BHI Fuad Kasumović, HDZ BiH and SNSD. These parties have 23 votes in the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, with HDZ BiH having the fewest, only four.  

However, to the surprise of some or not, the election of delegates to the Bosniak and Croat Clubs of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH launched NES and the Party for BiH to the state level. Zlatko Miletić was elected as a state delegate with the votes of ZNG delegate Damir Marjanović, NES delegate Tanja Šantić and Berina Fejzić from BPK.

The SDP candidate Jugoslav Brdar had two votes, cast by Marina Mujkanović (SDP) and Silva Banović (NIP).

When it comes to Bosniak delegates, SDP BiH could not count on the support of NIP because they, with their four votes, elected Kemal Ademović, and with one remaining vote supported Elvir Karajbić. With two more SDP delegates, that was not enough for election, as the remaining candidates had four votes each. Two SDA delegates, Šefik Džaferović and Safet Softić, DF delegate Dženan Đonlagić, and Džemal Smajić from the Party for BiH passed. Smajić had the support of two NES delegates and one from the Party for BiH, plus one more delegate from the Bosniak Club.

Neither NES nor the Party for BiH hid that they would propose lists, nor did they promise anything to the remaining parties from the eight-party coalition, so it is unclear where such anger and threats after the delegate election come from. 

After the public appearance of Vojin Mijatović, vice-president of SDP, who stated that we will see "how the government will now be formed in USK, Canton Sarajevo", the question of further talks about the new Government of Canton Sarajevo was opened.

After Edin Forte's withdrawal from the position of prime minister due to a ministerial position, not much time remains for proposing a mandate holder. It is increasingly being heard that the trio no longer counts on SBiH and ZNG as partners. However, forming a Government of Canton Sarajevo with 18 votes in the Cantonal Assembly is a big risk. The Party for BiH has five representatives, and ZNG has one. 

Although they had a clear situation immediately after the elections, due to growing appetites and desires for positions at higher levels of government, these parties prioritized the formation of state government and the Government of the Federation of BiH. However, the political processes this week showed that this was not a wise decision.

If the trio decides to form the government alone, the question is who will propose the prime minister of Canton Sarajevo. The budget of Canton Sarajevo will be smaller by 140 million KM due to the reduction of the weighting coefficient, unions representing 25,000 employees are announcing a strike, problems in healthcare and education have accumulated, the Government of Canton Sarajevo has not fulfilled its promises to students regarding the exemption of tuition fees for an average grade of 8.0 and above, which remains for the new government and prime minister to resolve. 

There is still no agreement on the portfolios in the Government of Canton Sarajevo, and a test for the parliamentary majority will be the draft budget of Canton Sarajevo, which is on the agenda for February 8. At the last session, with the votes of SDA, amendments to the Law on Forests of Canton Sarajevo were adopted.