SDA's 7th Congress in September, New President to be Elected

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The Congress of the Party of Democratic Action will be held in September this year, it was unofficially confirmed for Patria from the party's leadership. A new president of SDA, deputy president, vice presidents, members of the Main Board and Supervisory Board, and the Court of Honour are to be elected then.

The last Congress was held on May 26, 2015, when Bakir Izetbegović was elected president of SDA, having previously been the deputy president of SDA. Izetbegović became the third president of SDA, after Alija Izetbegović and Sulejman Tihić.

Besides Izetbegović, the candidates were Šemsudin Mehmedović and Irfan Ajanović. More than 700 delegates voted for the proposed candidates. Izetbegović received 590 votes, Šemsudin Mehmedović 159, and Irfan Ajanović 4 votes. 755 delegates voted, and two ballots were invalid.

SDA was going through certain turbulence at the time, and members warned that almost every criticism of the party's work was sanctioned.

In his speech to the delegates in the Juan Antonio Samaranch Hall, the then candidate for SDA president, Šemsudin Mehmedović, stated that "it is time for SDA to be a free party where free opinions can be expressed." He also stated that SDA needs decisive democratization.

Adil Osmanović was then elected deputy president of SDA, while Šemsudin Dedić with 386 votes, Šefik Džaferović with 465, Mirsad Kukić with 327, Edin Mušić with 416, Edin Ramić with 372, Asim Sarajlić with 421, Safet Softić with 377, and Denis Zvizdić with 440 delegate votes were elected vice presidents.

The position of one vice president of SDA remained vacant after Mirsad Kukić was expelled from SDA.

85 members of the Main Board were also elected at the Congress.

The decision to hold the Congress is made by the Main Board. However, the Main Board has not held a session for months, which was once a common practice for this party to have the Main Board decide on important issues. The Main Board session was not held even after the General Elections to analyze the party's results.

In a comment for Patria, the SDA Central Committee could not recall when the last session of the Main Board was held. Some members of SDA from the party leadership gave the same answer.

According to information available in the media, the last session of the SDA Main Board was held in March 2018.

All decisions in the party are currently made mainly by the will of President Izetbegović and a small circle of people: vice presidents, the SDA Collegium, and the SDA Presidency, totaling about 25 people.

The Main Board has also been excluded from the decision-making process regarding post-election coalitions, as well as other important issues.