Sarajevo residents on Erdogan's victory celebration: It was nice to see them

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent warm greetings to Sarajevo last night, after his AK Party won mayoral seats in all major cities in the country.

The connection between the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan has been visible for some time. It was also evident last night, when a group of students from Burch International University in Sarajevo, along with students from several other faculties, celebrated Erdogan's victory by driving through the streets of Sarajevo in cars with Turkish flags prominently displayed.

Sarajevo residents largely support the Turkish Prime Minister and his AK Party. Even the smaller number of citizens who see him as a conservative and a dictator do not deny him the strong economic progress he has brought to Turkey.

Ševko Abaz (75) tells the BiH news agency Patria (NAP) that the whole world can turn against Erdogan, but for him, yesterday's election result is the only true indicator of what kind of man he is.

- If the Turks say he is a good statesman, then there is no more doubt. They know best who this man is. They live with him - says Abaz. He recalled 1968, when he was on a tourist visit to Turkey. He saw only misery there. Today, it is not like that at all.

- 40 years ago, the voltage in the sockets in their hotels was 110 volts, while every house in our country had 220 volts. Look where Turkey is now, and where Bosnia and Herzegovina is. They have overtaken us - says Abaz.

Mirnes Tahirović, although only 16 years old, follows political developments in Turkey. He says this is due to his Sandžak origin and the fact that many of his compatriots live in Turkey today.

Even last night's celebration by students on the streets of Sarajevo was interesting to him.

- It was nice to see them - says Dahirović.

Semir Avdić and Mustafa Nikšić are not overly enthusiastic about Erdogan and the political decisions he makes, although they say no one can deny him the economic progress he has brought to his country.

- I think he sometimes goes too far in some things. I have a feeling that he is closing Turkey in on itself, isolating them from the rest of the world. For example, his moves to ban the social network Twitter are completely unclear to me - says Avdić.