SBiH puts Mijatović to the test: Do the same constitutional standards apply in Stari Grad?

(Patria) - The Municipal Board of SBiH Novo Sarajevo calls on the Sarajevo SDP to, through the Deputy Prime Minister of the Federation of BiH, Vojin Mijatović, request an opinion from the Constitutional Court of the Federation of BiH on the compliance of the decision on the election of the President of the Municipal Council of Stari Grad with the Constitution of the Federation of BiH.

"We consider it controversial that the President of the Council and the Mayor of the Municipality belong to the same constituent people, which is contrary to the Constitution of the FBiH and requires an assessment of constitutionality.

The circumstance is that Mijatović has already used his right to request an opinion from the Constitutional Court of the FBiH in an identical situation in the Municipality of Novi Grad Sarajevo, where the President and the Mayor were also from the Bosniak people. In that case, the Court gave an opinion, and the political majority acted in accordance with the submitted stance, which is why the accusations that the president of the Party for BiH does not respect the Constitutional Court's ruling are completely unfounded.

Therefore, it is not a ruling, but an opinion of the Constitutional Court of the FBiH, which related exclusively to the election of the President of the Municipal Council, and not to the election of the Mayor, which was respected in this case", they state.

If the Sarajevo SDP refuses to request an opinion, SBIH points out, and in the case of the Municipality of Stari Grad, we will consider that it selectively interprets constitutional principles and reacts to violations of the Constitution and laws only in cases where it can politically capitalize.

"We remind that in the previous term, in the same municipality, in an almost identical situation with the President of the Municipal Council from NiP, the SDP considered that the Constitution was not violated. Not only did it not request an opinion from the Constitutional Court, but the SDP then voted for a President from the same people as the Mayor, and was part of the majority that supported him.

The SDP, a party that invokes the values of anti-fascism, defense of the state, and equality of citizens, now has the opportunity to show political consistency and what values it truly cherishes.

We call on them to show that insisting on respecting constitutional norms in Novi Grad is not an attack on the identity, origin, or war path of any individual, nor a fight for party positions, and that they do not invoke constitutional principles only when they personally benefit from it.

If they truly want institutions to function in accordance with the Constitution of the FBiH and for the principle of equality of constituent peoples to be applied equally in all situations, they have an ideal opportunity to protect constitutional norms even when the identical problem appears within their own ranks in the Municipality of Stari Grad, where both the Mayor (SDP) and the President of the Municipal Council (SDP) come from the same people and the same party.
At the same time, we call on the Sarajevo SDP to clearly distance itself from the official positions of SDP Banja Luka, their branch which in a recent statement used falsehoods and rhetoric characteristic of Serbian intelligence structures", stated SBiH Novo Sarajevo.

The fact that in the same statement they first "defend" the opinion of the Constitutional Court of the FBiH, which was made at the initiative of their official Vojin Mijatović, and then completely contradictorily attack court decisions in another case, related to a traffic accident, is particularly concerning.

"This is just a continuation of the continuous hypocritical and selective respect for institutions and laws by the SDP. When decisions suit their interests, they defend them, and when they do not suit them, they dispute, trivialize, and discredit them.

A similar pattern was already visible with Mijatović, who publicly questioned the decision of the Constitutional Court of BiH regarding January 9th. And we saw identical behavior from the SDP during the brutal, undemocratic suspension of the FBiH Constitution, as well as in cases of uncovering an organized, criminal network of political corruption and trading of interests, led by their president Nermin Nikšić.

The Municipal Board of SBiH Novo Sarajevo openly calls on the Sarajevo SDP to test the state-building credentials of Vojin Mijatović and his alleged "fight" for respect for the decisions and opinions of the Constitutional Court in this specific case. Likewise, to finally come out of the closet and show what values they truly represent", the statement said.