Mandić's request for review of recall decision rejected, Council confirms referendum will be held

(Patria) - The Centar Municipal Council, after a heated debate, voted 16 in favor, and after individual voting, voted for the conclusion of councilor Senada Bosno, who proposed that the allegations from the request of Mayor Srđan Mandić for a review of the recall be rejected as unfounded.

The conclusion was supported by 16 councilors, and after the request of the Our Party councilor for individual voting, the result remained the same.

Amra Zulfikarpašić had a theatrical address, stating after the vote that they were attending a session where "the head of the only honest mayor is being removed".

"I am addressing my fellow citizens, my Sarajevans, and I say that I heard something in these premises, 'what do you few Sarajevans want'. Of course, only a few Sarajevans are left, unfortunately. Terrible insinuations are being made. Those who are fighting to rule our municipality and budget are the ones we Sarajevans deserved. We are waiting for the referendum and I call on all my Sarajevans to come to the referendum, and an invisible monster threatens us," said Zulfikarpašić.

The Chairman of the Council, Sejad Đozo, joined the call.

Councilor Amer Kapo (SBB) addressed the council, requesting a break.

"If there is no chance of reaching an agreement between the councilors and the mayor, I will support the recall, but then let the citizens decide who is right. If you still maintain that there is no agreement between the trio that has divided the positions, I give you one more chance to think about it," said Kapo.

After the break, Kapo stated that he believes it is better to hold a referendum than to continue this agony.

Then, Our Party councilor Alen Girt requested a ten-minute break because that was requested by the Presidency of Our Party.

After the break, Chairman Sejad Đozo read the Decision on confirming the decisions and acts of the Municipal Council of Centar Municipality made at the 6th extraordinary session held on 07/27/2023, the decision to initiate the recall, as well as the Instructions for conducting the recall procedure of the Mayor of Centar Municipality.

With 16 votes in favor, 10 against, and two abstentions, this decision was made. Our Party requested individual voting, but even after individual voting, there were 16 votes in favor of recalling Srđan Mandić, making the decision to hold a referendum final. The councilors of NIP (all nine), one from SDA, one from SBB, and five independent councilors voted in favor of the decision.

The referendum is scheduled for September 17.