Split in Mostar's SDP, calls for Zalihić to step down as head of City Board!?

(Patria) - The long and arduous negotiations on forming a new government of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton appear to be leaving the most severe consequences for the SDP City Board in Mostar.

Already during the negotiations on forming the government, disagreements arose among certain party factions, leading prominent businessman Dževad Handžar to resign his membership in the SDP City Board in Mostar. However, it did not end there.

According to information obtained by Slobodna Bosna, about fifteen prominent members of the City Board, including the Vice President of SDP BiH, Lana Prlić, and elected councilors in the Mostar City Council Emina Ćorić and Sanel Žuljević (brother of Aner Žuljević, ed. SB), and Dževad Handžar who left the SDP City Board but remained in the party, supported by other members, have requested the dissolution of the SDP City Board and the convening of a Conference to elect a new president of SDP Mostar instead of the current president Arman Zalihić.

These SDP activists, our portal learns, criticize Zalihić for "autocratic leadership of the party combined with personal interests and nepotism," as well as personnel decisions that bypass the party's City Board. Furthermore, Arman Zalihić, along with the president of the SDP Cantonal Committee Ismet Lulić, is also blamed for exerting decisive influence over the SDP's "quota" in the HNC Government, i.e., over ministers Zanin Vejzović and Emil Balavac.

Slobodna Bosna also learns that Zalihić sent a letter to members of the Main Board of SDP Mostar informing them that he has no intention of convening a Conference to discuss his position, as demanded by the other SDP members. Also, as an illustration of the conflict within the Mostar SDP, it is noted that none of the "renegade" members were invited to the annual gathering recently organized by the leadership of the Mostar SDP.

The outcome of the conflict is currently difficult to predict, as both sides have their own advantages. Zalihić can count on the support of the cantonal head Ismet Lulić, but the key role will reportedly be played by the influence that Aner Žuljević and Lana Prlić have at the top of the SDP, specifically on Vice President Vojin Mijatović and President Nermin Nikšić.