Municipal councilors of Centar filed a criminal complaint with the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office against Mandić for obstructing the referendum process

(Patria) - Municipal councilors of the Centar Municipality today filed a criminal complaint against Srđan Mandić, the Mayor of Centar Municipality, for the criminal offense of "Abuse of office or authority" under Article 383, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code of the Federation of BiH and the criminal offense of "Negligent work in service" under Article 387, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code of the Federation of BiH.

The criminal complaint was filed after Mandić obstructed the procurement of ballots for the recall referendum for several months. Due to this, the initial referendum scheduled for September 17 was postponed to October 22. However, the Municipal Council was forced to make a new decision, and the referendum was scheduled for November 26.

"The Mayor of Centar Municipality Sarajevo, Mandić Srđan, even after the Decision of the Municipal Council of Centar Municipality Sarajevo on amending the Decision to initiate the recall of the Mayor of Centar Municipality Sarajevo, which postponed the date of the referendum of the citizens of Centar Municipality Sarajevo on the recall of the Mayor, has not taken and still does not take any action to implement the procedure for the recall of the Mayor, but on the contrary, is obstructing the procedure for the recall of the Mayor.

By such conduct and failure to take actions he is obliged to, the Mayor is committing the criminal offense of Abuse of office or authority under Article 383, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code of the Federation of BiH and the criminal offense of "Negligent work in service" under Article 387, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code of the Federation of BiH," the complaint states.

Councilors further state that the possibility of voting on the recall of the mayor is prescribed by Articles 1.4, 1.5, 3.1, 3.7, 13.7 of the Election Law of BiH, meaning that the active right to vote is a constitutional and legal category, including a fundamental human right provided for by the European Convention on Human Rights, which has supremacy and direct application in domestic legislation, therefore the Mayor of Centar Municipality Sarajevo is committing a serious violation of the rights of the citizens of Centar Municipality Sarajevo.

As previously announced by the Municipal Organization of NIP, which initiated the recall with the support of several other councilors, the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office already has seven open cases against Srđan Mandić. As heard at yesterday's session of the Municipal Council, a financial audit revealed a large number of service contracts with more than 30 individuals, and a moratorium on employment in the Centar Municipality was also voted on.