By: Nevena Šarenac
If I am elected mayor of Sarajevo, it would be evidence that national minorities are not completely neglected in this city, said the President of the Jewish Community in BiH Jakob Finci for ‘Sarajevo Times’. He is a candidate of Naše Stranka for the mayor of Sarajevo.
He thinks that the Sarajevo City Council at today’s constitutive session would make the right decision, and that Sarajevo would get the mayor that it deserves.
“Whether that will be me or someone else, it depends on the political agreement’’, said Finci.
Jakob Finci spoke with ‘Sarajevo Times’ on the priorities he would tackle if he were to be elected mayor of Sarajevo with a mandate of four years.
An emphasis was placed on the legal status of Sarajevo and decisions of the Constitutional Court on meeting the Convention on Local Democracy.
As a second priority, he would set aside the gathering and compilation of the citizens of Sarajevo, and “not their continued division on various grounds”.
“We all live in the same city, or in a boat that we all have to row in the same direction in order to reach our goals. If someone drills a hole in that boat, we will all drown’’, warned Finci.
Among the priorities included are improving the relations between Sarajevo and other BiH cities.
“Sarajevo is partnered with 38 cities throughout the world. Unfortunately, we know that Sarajevo is not very popular in Zenica, Banja Luka, Tuzla, Mostar, Trebinje and many other BiH cities. It is time for us to realize that Sarajevo is not something that is above BiH, but rather it is an integral part of this country’’, said Finci.
In cooperation with other municipal governments, given that there is a confidence vote and he is chosen for mayor, he would work on resolving the urgent problems of the citizens, such as the ongoing problem of water supply, stray dogs, and other pressing problems.
Also, he will strive to affirm the multicultural character of Sarajevo, improve the position of national minorities and other people who feel deprived for various reasons.
In Sarajevo today there is a meeting of the City Council, where councilors are supposed to elect the new leadership of the Council and the mayor for a mandate of four years.
Given that, according to the rules of the City Council every one of the 28 councilors has a right to propose their choice for mayor, it is not yet known for whom the councilors could vote.
What was previously known is that Naša Stranka, which has three councilors, has chosen Jakob Finci as their candidate for mayor. The Social Democratic Union (SDU) of BIH also has three councilors and has chosen Stjepan Kljuić as their candidate.
