Sarajevo's Response Under Pressure: Is Mirza Memišević the Solution to the Stalemate in the Novi Grad Municipal Council?

By: Rasim Belko

Another attempt to hold the constitutive session of the Novi Grad Sarajevo Municipal Council ended as the previous one - unsuccessfully. The reason is simple, the parties that convened the session did not have enough councilors to complete the process.

The last attempt at a constitutive session was orchestrated by the parties of the Trojka (SDP, NiP, and NS). More precisely, only a part of Naša stranka, and councilors from SDA led in non-party activities by Adnan Efendić, president of the OO SDA Novi Grad Sarajevo.

As the public was informed, a session of the Cantonal Board of SDA Sarajevo was held on Sunday evening, where unwavering support was given to the continuation of cooperation between the parties of the so-called Sarajevo Response (SDA, SBiH, DF). However, the KO SDA did not go all the way in deciding on the situation in Novi Grad, so Adnan Efendić, as the president of the local SDA and the local branch of the Party for BiH, was asked to reach an agreement.

As far as we know by the time of this text's conclusion, there have been no new formal or informal inter-party talks. Thus, the legislative authority in the Sarajevo municipality of Novi Grad will wait a while longer, i.e., for the resolution of the political conflict on the Adnan Efendić - Party for BiH line.

Local problems and personal interests have definitely shaken the trust within the Sarajevo Response, and no special analysis is needed to conclude that in Novi Grad, either a path will be paved for a stronger alliance within the Sarajevo Response, or that story will end for a longer period.

It is evident that in OO SDA Novi Grad, as well as in the higher party bodies, there is no readiness to solve the problem known as “Adnan's interest,” which has been simmering since the beginning of the formation of the Sarajevo Bloc. Adnan Efendić insisted until the last moment that SDA offer a counter-candidate to challenge Semir Efendić. After failing to do so, there is clear evidence that in cooperation with NiP cadres, he assisted Mirza Selimbegović, as a counter-candidate to the leader of the Party for BiH.

However, the election results positioned the Party for BiH in a much better position, but Adnan Efendić did not give up on his intention to control a significant part of the process in that municipality himself. Primarily, he proposed Haris Alihodžić for the President of the Municipal Council, who openly undermined Semir Efendić's chances during the campaign. Adnan Efendić did not back down even after clear messages from the headquarters, so as a “compromise” he offered Emir Šehović, a day or two after Šehović insulted councilors and the Party for BiH.

Those familiar with the issues of relations in Novi Grad say that Adnan Efendić is buying time and “using up” cadres whom he himself does not want to be elected, all in order to install the most loyal person among the seven elected SDA councilors at the head of the Municipal Council at a later stage. The same sources say that these are neither Šehović nor Alihodžić, nor Kenan Kolašinac or Azra Čomor, whom SBiH proposed as a compromise.

Cadres who control local and cantonal flows in the Sarajevo branches of Narod i pravda and SDP are seeking their chance in this whole story. Adnan Efendić agreed with them on the last unsuccessful attempt to hold the session.

Given that the matter has failed, and that the Sarajevo Response has an advantage in the number of councilors in the OV Novi Grad, it is clear that a compromise must be reached, otherwise the partners who accuse the Trojka of being unserious will turn out to be much more unserious.

For the sake of the citizens of Novi Grad, KS, and the broader story of the Sarajevo Response, which it must be, a compromise solution is necessary. In this case, the least painful solution to the strained relations would be the appointment of Mirza Memišević as the President of the OV Novi Grad.

Memišević was elected from the list of Demokratska fronta, a partner in the Sarajevo Response, and is already in his second term in the Council, so he has the necessary experience for the position.

In the current stalemate that is blocking the legislative authority in OV Novi Grad, and also hindering the functioning of the Sarajevo Response at the City of Sarajevo level, Memišević would be a fire-fighting solution that none of the interested parties could object to.

At the same time, the very proposal of Memišević would reveal the readiness of both OO SDA and the local branch of the Party for BiH to create a compromise for the sake of the citizens of the municipality to which they promised progress, political stability, and foresight for the future.

Because it is hard to believe that anyone after election night and the results could have believed that in Novi Grad, of all Sarajevo municipalities, the situation would be so heated, given the results of the Sarajevo Response bloc.

Alternatives and compromises therefore exist, and it remains to be seen whether the personal interests of individuals and small groups are above the agreement and issues that can dictate the fate of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its capital city in the near future.