SDA 'remembers' to seek unity, Čović and Dodik divide, while Raguž advocates for Bosnia's integrity

The pre-election campaign officially began on September 12, and political parties have covered almost every available space with their election promises and photoshopped candidates, writes the BH news agency Patria.

While this year some parties decided to direct funds toward renovating primary schools in BiH instead of billboards and election posters, others generously opened their wallets and literally flooded streets, parks, lampposts, buildings...

The election slogans of the parties do not differ significantly from the messages of previous years. Thus, the Party of Democratic Action came out with the message “In unity there is strength,” although it is already well known that this party is shaken by internal conflicts and two factions. One loyal to party president Sulejman Tihić, and the other to his deputy Bakir Izetbegović. Even more interesting is that, for the most part, at least on the streets of Sarajevo, only Izetbegović's image or just the election slogan has been displayed, while other candidates for other levels of government are almost absent from busier streets. Additionally, as before every election, SDA and Izetbegović only then remember the first president of the Republic of BiH, Alija Izetbegović. An obvious example is the party newspaper (distributed on Fridays on the streets of Sarajevo, especially around mosques) featuring a picture of the late Izetbegović with the message „For a strong Sarajevo,” which, according to citizens' reactions, is extremely morbid.

Psychologist Srđan Puhalo told the BH news agency Patria that slogans „in themselves mean nothing if people do not recognize them as something sincere and as an integral, indivisible part of a political option.” He further states that slogans are quite normal in campaigns, but today there is a lack of authenticity in political parties, and consequently in the messages they send.

This means that SDA, through an aggressive campaign, wants to convince first itself, and then voters, of unity.

- Slogans must align with the policies of those parties and the values they represent. These slogans are a form that must be respected, but in principle they do not bring any benefit to political parties; however, what is much more important is that they can cause harm if they deviate significantly from how the party itself is perceived. A bad slogan can make your life difficult; we must keep in mind that a slogan should be the crown of a particular political party, but that comes at the end. Before that, the party must be clearly and precisely defined, grounded, value-oriented, determined toward voters, and what it promotes must be followed by such behavior – Puhalo told Patriu.

On the other hand, the Democratic Front – Željko Komšić has a clear slogan „Decisively into changes,” and the PDP has a very similar one „Join the changes.”

The situation with Milorad Dodik's SNSD continues the policy of dividing BiH, so a message has been created for one entity, one nation: „For the victory of Srpska, in the name of Srpska.” We remind you that in 2010, Dodik's slogans were „Srpska forever” and „Dayton forever.”

For the two candidates for the Croatian member of the BiH Presidency, the election slogans are diametrically opposed; thus, while one follows Dodik's policy, the other advocates for a unified BiH.

Thus, Dragan Čović (HDZ BiH) describes himself as „The Croatian choice,” while Martin Raguž (HDZ 1990) clearly states „This is our country,” thereby already gaining the sympathies of all BiH citizens, writes NAP.