No referendum, Mandić stays until new elections: The "Trojka" will go together, but the candidate will be from SDP or NIP

By Amra Vrabac

The referendum on the recall of the Mayor of Centar Municipality, Srđan Mandić, will definitely not be held. Although three dates were set - September 17, then October 22, and finally November 26, the referendum cannot be held due to obstructions in the procurement of voting materials. The decision on recall was voted on back in July.

Now there is no point in the Municipal Council making a new decision on the referendum, given that the entire process would enter an election year, which is not advisable according to the Election Law of BiH, and it is not rational either, as the regular local elections are in October.

Thus, Mandić will remain mayor until the next local elections. However, the remaining part of his term will not be pleasant. He does not have a majority in the Municipal Council, so the last two sessions, where the Budget of Centar Municipality for 2024 was supposed to be discussed, have failed.

The recall initiated by the councilors of People and Justice, who also have the largest club in the Municipal Council, with the support of several other councilors, has caused headaches for the presidents of NIP and Our Party. While the president of NIP, Elmedin Konaković, said he did not know what the NIP councilors would do, even though he was aware of the councilors' dissatisfaction with Mandić's (in)action, the president of Our Party, Edin Forto, briefly stated: "With friends like these, who needs enemies." However, it seems that the whole situation has not damaged the relationship between Konaković and Forto, who are also state ministers.

On one hand, NIP failed to bring the referendum to an end, which can be considered a failure, but on the other hand, they hold the majority in the Council, which is Mandić's failure as mayor. Also, Mandić claimed he was not afraid of the referendum but did everything to obstruct and slow down the procurement of ballots.

There are no winners in this situation, and the next elections will show how sustainable the "Trojka" concept is in the Centar municipality. SDP was on Mandić's side in this situation.

Although the "Trojka" is preparing for the local elections and plans to nominate joint candidates for mayors and city mayors again, NIP Centar is not ready to support Mandić. However, he will certainly not be a candidate either, because after eliminating Lejla Brčić from the Management Board of KCUS, he sided with her and entered into a conflict with Forto.

"Only a political amateur and calculator, or someone with hidden motives and ulterior intentions, can give up the knowledge and experience of Lejla Brčić. The way this was done is particularly condemnable, without notice, without discussion, as if she were a member of an opposing party. Whatever the background of this decision, this is another in a series of serious mistakes by the current president of Our Party. A shame, a great shame... – Mandić stated on his Facebook page in early October.

Given the turbulence in both Our Party and NIP, the "Trojka" will have a difficult task finding a joint candidate acceptable to all three parties. Our Party had its chance in the last elections, and next year, the candidate should be offered by SDP or People and Justice.