Selimbegović: I invite Čengić to accept the invitation for a public debate, anytime and anywhere

(Patria) - SDA candidate for the Mayor of Old Town Municipality Sarajevo Dženan Selimbegović invited his opponent in the October Local Elections, the current mayor and candidate of SDP BiH, Irfan Čengić, to a public debate.

"I have received several invitations for a public debate with my opponent Irfan Čengić.
The first invitation came from Klix.ba and Ms. Emela Burdžović, and of course, I accepted the invitation, while Irfan Čengić has not to this day.

After that, invitations from other media followed, and I accepted every single one. Čengić has not accepted any.

Why is Čengić afraid to confront arguments with me in public? I don't think that decision came on its own, but rather it is part of a strategy that Čengić is systematically implementing, abusing his position as mayor.

A strategy in which he thinks that by covering everything with his pictures, while simultaneously refusing every invitation for a debate, he will create the impression that he is the only candidate, or at least the complete favorite for the position of Mayor of Old Town Municipality. That might have been the case if the citizens of Old Town were naive.

First, Čengić rented all possible advertising spaces for himself, and then he distributed some to his coalition partners, and marketing agencies – of which there are not many in Old Town and which have prime positions – have not contacted us for months, probably out of fear of retaliation from the mayor who exhibits serious dictatorial tendencies.

The advertising spaces rented by Čengić certainly cost tens, and probably hundreds of thousands of KM.

This is the second campaign in just one year, and Čengić has invested hundreds of thousands of KM in both. Where does he get so much money from, who is financing his campaign?

As if that wasn't enough, he has put up illegal advertisements on public lighting poles in many local communities, and he has not yet responded to our request for the same, even though almost a third of the campaign has passed.

At the very beginning of the election campaign, by misinterpreting the provisions of the Election Law, he even banned us from using the Old Town Municipality hall, as well as the premises of all local communities for our pre-election activities.

For seven days now, he has not issued us a Decision for setting up info stands.

Čengić has become arrogant and in just one year, he behaves worse than the previous mayor Hadžibajrić ever did. And might is not right before God...

I invite Čengić to provide us, even though he is the mayor, with equal treatment and equal access to rights as candidates, as all other mayors do. I also invite him to accept the invitation for a debate with me, anytime and anywhere.

I publicly promise here that I will not ask him if he is also covered by the investigation into the sale of diplomas at the phantom PIM University where he "obtained" his law degree; let him answer that to the investigative bodies.

True, I will have to ask him how it is that lamps in the small park in the Medrese local community, which cost 300 KM retail, were paid for with 10,000 KM, and how a camera that costs 200 KM was paid for with 4,000 KM.

I won't ask him that for myself, everything is perfectly clear to me there, I will ask him for the citizens who are still waiting for an answer.



Čengić's election campaign slogan reads "We bravely serve Old Town". However, it is not bravery that Irfan Čengić moves exclusively in a police escort among the citizens of Old Town.

Nor is this abuse of the mayor's position bravery. Especially not bravery is avoiding every invitation for a debate and confrontation of arguments. All of that is simple cowardice", stated Selimbegović on his Facebook profile.