Nikšić allowed NiP to interfere in party affairs, SDP will pay the price!

By Amra Vrabac

President of SDP Nermin Nikšić, as well as the party's closest leadership, have not commented after about thirty members of the Municipal Board Novi Grad Sarajevo resigned from all positions, including the president of OO SDP Novi Grad Mahir Delić.

They decided on this step after the Presidency of SDP initially cancelled the election-reporting conference of OO SDP Novi Grad, and then at the session of the Cantonal Board SDP Sarajevo held on September 28, a narrow majority adopted the conclusion to dissolve OO SDP Novi Grad and OO SDP Novo Sarajevo.

The final decision on the dissolution of the municipal organizations will be made by the Presidency of SDP, which has not yet scheduled a session.

The president of the Cantonal Board SDP BiH Sarajevo Adnan Šteta stated that he will introduce a Trusteeship into the Novi Grad organization or that one of the vice-presidents will lead it until the convention is held.

He accused individuals of creating a fuss because they are “thirsty for attention and television”.
Although he claims that everyone's goal should be a stronger SDP, Šteta did not show such a desire at the session of the Cantonal Board SDP BiH, when he literally forced the necessary majority to adopt the conclusion on the dissolution of two municipal organizations. Some members of the Cantonal Board SDP told Patrija that they justifiably suspect the legality of such a decision because people who do not have the right to vote, but were guests at that session, also voted.

It is no secret that dissatisfaction in SDP has been growing since the establishment of the so-called troika, as many believed that the president of People and Justice Elmedin Konaković had a great influence on Nermin Nikšić and that NiP was taking over part of SDP's election results. Dissatisfaction also grew after the establishment of the state and imposed Federal government. Cadres close to Nermin Nikšić were appointed to the FBiH Government, and the process of proposing candidates for ministers was not transparent.

The Novi Grad organization believes that the SDP leadership completely ignored their contribution to the election results and that they were not consulted either in the election of ministers in the KS Government or in the FBiH Government.

Šteta himself was one of the biggest proponents of postponing the SDP Congress in order to keep Nikšić in that position, even though his term had expired and according to the Statute he had no right to re-election, and that the new leadership should be elected only after the local elections. Vojin Mijatović, who received a position in the FBiH Government, held the same opinion.

Tensions in the Sarajevo organizations only intensified, and relations with the troika parties were significantly damaged in the municipal councils. Especially in the Municipal Councils Novo Sarajevo and Centar.

The president of OO SDP Novo Sarajevo Samir Suljević told Hayat that People and Justice is causing division and unrest within SDP.

“Who asked for the dissolution of Novo Sarajevo? Dino Konaković asked, who publicly stated that he asked his coalition partners for the dissolution of Novo Sarajevo. Did the Cantonal leadership of SDP ask for the dissolution of OO Centar NiP due to the events regarding the recall of Srđan Mandić? No,” said Suljević.

Relations in the Municipal Council Novo Sarajevo are also on the verge of incidents, and the majority, which is formed from session to session, is not functioning. The mayor Hasan Tanović, who became a member of SDP after the elections, does not have the support of People and Justice, nor Naša stranka. Sessions are not being held, and the fight for the position of mayor in the next elections has already begun. SDP achieved one of its best results in this municipality. Together with OO Novi Grad, they represent 45 percent of SDP's votes in the Sarajevo Canton.

It is true that due to the recall of Srđan Mandić, Naša stranka is on the same side as SDP, while NiP Centar, with some other councilors, on the other side, voted for the recall. The president of Naša stranka Edin Forto then stated that with “friends like these, they don’t need enemies”. Although everything indicates that there will be no referendum on the recall, even though it was postponed from September 17 to October 22, the relations among the councilors are permanently damaged.

Such an atmosphere also transferred to the City Council, where SDP councilor Dragan Stevanović resigned from the position of deputy presiding officer, which was also accepted. He stated that the troika agreement no longer applies to him. Today, he stated that there are three political currents in SDP.

“The first is ‘Bosniak national socialist’. Throughout history, we know where ‘national socialism’ ended up. The second is technobureaucratic, or as I often like to say, a current that has understood SDP as a joint-stock company. The third, in my opinion the largest but least organized and least visible, is purely social democratic. The first two groups have their prominent and recognizable leaders, the third does not, and it is time for it to have one. For this to happen, the intellectual social democratic potential, which has been persistently pushed to the margins of political action from the time of Zlatko Lagumdžija until today, needs to be urgently returned to SDP,” Stevanović stated.

And while the internal conflict within the Sarajevo SDP is ongoing, problems are also accumulating in some other organizations of this party.

If it wants to minimize the damage that could occur as soon as possible, the Presidency of SDP will have to draw a line and make key decisions that everyone will have to adhere to equally, or they will yield to interest groups surrounding individuals from the very top of SDP.