DUE TO NIKŠIĆ: SDP Congress draws closer, some local organizations will not elect delegates and refuse to participate in the work

(Patria) - The Ninth Congress of the Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina is scheduled for July 5, with 870 delegates entitled to participate.

However, as Patria learns, some municipal organizations refuse to delegate delegates to the Congress, thereby sending a message to the SDP leadership due to the manner in which they wish to once again, contrary to the SDP Statute, extend the mandate of President Nermin Nikšić, who has been at the helm of the SDP since 2014.

At least one SDP municipal organization from Sarajevo will not elect delegates, and problems also exist in other organizations.

Thus, SDP Stari Grad had no delegates at the last Congress in 2023 either, when Irfan Čengić publicly rebelled, claiming the SDP Statute was being violated, and he did not participate in the work of the Congress.

For the upcoming Congress, SDP Stari Grad will also not elect delegates, and Čengić is a member of the Main Board and is a delegate by function, but he will likely not appear.

When Dervo Sejdić left the SDP two days ago, he cited among other reasons that the Municipal Organization Centar had not planned for him to be a delegate at the Congress.

"Under the organization of the SDP BiH leadership, a party Congress is being prepared, for which I was not even proposed, let alone delegated as a delegate and participant of the Congress, with the note that I was present at the last Congress, also without delegate status, and I was 'allowed to enter' to avoid an incident. For this upcoming Congress, from the municipal organization Centar, 9 Bosniaks, 5 Croats, 5 Serbs, and 5 'Others' are being delegated. Me, as I said, is not even in the proposal," Sejdić stated.

At the head of this municipal organization is Igor Stojanović, the current Vice President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The SDP Main Board, in its decision to hold the 9th Congress, stated that delegates should be chosen from SDP members who have distinguished themselves in their work so far, as well as in pre-election activities.

Of the 870 delegates, 696 should be elected by municipal/city organizations, and 174 delegates are ex officio (President of the SDP, members of the Main Board, Supervisory Board, and Statute Committee, member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, representatives in the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, the Parliament of the Federation of BiH, the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, deputies in cantonal assemblies, representatives of the SDP in executive authorities at all levels.)

Although the SDP Main Board previously established the agenda for the 9th Congress, which also planned the adoption of a decision to call elections for the President of the SDP BiH, this may not happen at the Congress at all.

The plan, according to well-informed sources, is for a handful of Nikšić's closest associates to gather a critical mass of delegates at the Congress who will, on their proposal, once again extend Nikšić's mandate.

Given that the General Elections are in October 2026, it is difficult to expect that elections for the President of the SDP will take place before 2027.

Nikšić has repeatedly stated that according to the Statute he can no longer be a candidate for president, but contrary to the Statute, in June 2023 he agreed to have his mandate extended, which is the most likely scenario for the July congress as well.

Incidentally, due to his obligations as Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nikšić almost never or rarely appears at the SDP headquarters.