Predrag Puharić is the new Mayor of Sarajevo: It is an honour to hold this position

(Patria) - At the session of the City Council, Predrag Puharić (SDP BiH) was elected as the new Mayor of Sarajevo from the ranks of the Serbian people.

21 councillors voted for his election, while one abstained.

He will perform the duty until the constitution of the new convocation of the City Council of the City of Sarajevo, i.e., until the procedure for electing the mayor at the constitutive session of the new convocation. Puharić accepted the mandate and took the solemn oath at today's session of the City Council.

In his address to the councillors and the public, he said that he feels a great sense of honour and responsibility in taking the position of mayor of the beloved city.

"By accepting the mandate, I will focus on three key goals: adopting the Budget of the City of Sarajevo to ensure the smooth functioning of its institutions, securing conditions for the formation of a new City Council and a new mayor, and implementing initiated projects. I am convinced that through joint work in these few months, we will achieve concrete and visible results. Being the mayor of Sarajevo is an exceptional honour; Sarajevo is a symbol of resilience and unity," said Puharić.

Incidentally, today's session was attended by the former mayor, now head of Novo Sarajevo, Benjamina Karić, as well as the head of Stari Grad, Irfan Čengić.

Predrag Puharić is a respected expert in the field of cyber security and digital transformation, with over 20 years of experience in education, research, and implementation of state-of-the-art solutions for security in the digital space. He graduated from the Faculty of Criminalistics, Criminology and Security Studies at the University of Sarajevo. He furthered his education as a Chevening Cyber Security Fellow at Cranfield University in the United Kingdom and as a CRDF International Cybersecurity Fellow at Purdue University in the USA. He is also a recipient of the IVLP scholarship from the State Department.

He currently holds the position of Director of the Center for Excellence in Cyber Security (CSEC) in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In his political career so far, Puharić has been a long-time member of the Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he at one time served as Secretary of the Cantonal Board of SDP Sarajevo - stated the Sarajevo SDP.