Bakir Izetbegović, leader of the Party of Democratic Action, has confirmed that he will again run for the Bosniak seat in the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the October 4 general elections. He said the decision followed support from within the party, adding that people he spoke with believed there were good candidates, but assessed that he was the best option. Izetbegović said he did not want to offer himself as a candidate because he had lost in the previous elections.
His main opponent will be the current member and chair of the Presidency, Denis Bećirović, who defeated him four years ago. Izetbegović admitted the race would be uncertain, but said he would not have accepted the candidacy if he did not believe he could win. He argued that voter support is returning to SDA, which he described as the most serious and largest party, and said dissatisfaction with the current government could work in his favor.
Izetbegović strongly criticized the current authorities, saying that Bosnia and Herzegovina’s European and NATO paths had stalled and that the country was in its most fragile condition since Dayton. He warned that if Bećirović is re-elected, the crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina would deepen. He also said that SDA should return to power, promising 50,000 new jobs in the first mandate and accusing the current authorities of losing 10,000 jobs and increasing debt by four billion.
Asked about alleged U.S. support for SDA’s return to power, Izetbegović denied that the party had received any guarantee from Washington. However, he said communication with U.S. representatives had resumed after three years without meetings, noting that they had met five times in three months and describing that as a good sign. He added that the current instability does not suit the United States.
Izetbegović also commented on the Croatian and Serbian races for the Presidency, saying he expects possible surprises that could be “bad for the state.” He predicted that neither HDZ BiH’s Darijana Filipović nor SNSD’s expected candidate Željka Cvijanović would win, describing such an outcome as potentially the worst scenario for Bosnia and Herzegovina. He said he hopes for a better political constellation that would allow the country to move forward on issues he claims the current government has stopped.
