During the first year of their mandate, municipal heads and mayors in 13 municipalities and cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), to a greater or lesser extent, worked on the realization of more than half of the promises from the pre-election programs that they presented to citizens in the campaign for the 2024 local elections.
Through monitoring the progress of the fulfillment of pre-election promises, Istinomjer recorded 18 fulfilled, 17 promises whose realization is in progress, and 338 with the rating ‘started’, out of a total of 687 recorded promises of local politicians.
Istinomjer collected promises from the pre-election programs of candidates for municipal heads and mayors during the election campaign for the 2024 Local Elections. The monitoring covered 13 municipalities and cities: Banja Luka, Bihac, Bijeljina, Centar Sarajevo, Gradiska, Livno, Ljubuski, Novi Grad Sarajevo, Novo Sarajevo, Stari Grad Sarajevo, Tuzla, Velika Kladusa, and Visoko.
In these local communities, 11 candidates renewed their mandates, while in Novo Sarajevo and Velika Kladusa, new candidates won mandates – Benjamina Karic and Boris Horvat. The Mayor of Tuzla, Zijad Lugavic, had the most promises in his program (168), while the Mayor of Livno, Darko Condric (21), and the Mayor of Banja Luka, Drasko Stanivukovic (22), had the least.
During the first year of the mandate, fully fulfilled promises were also recorded. In Tuzla, seven were fulfilled, and three promises each were fulfilled in the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo and Visoko. Two promises each were fulfilled in the Municipality of Centar Sarajevo and Gradiska, and one in Livno. In all municipalities and cities, promises were recorded that, after the first year of the mandate, carried the ratings ‘started’ or ‘in progress’, and in nine municipalities, non-concrete or unfounded promises were recorded.
Monitoring showed that, as in previous mandates, there is still a difference in the candidates’ approach regarding the creation of their programs, so there is a difference in the number of promises given. Also, certain mayors who renewed their mandate had projects in their programs that were already in the realization phase. Promises related to budget allocations, such as those for social categories, the economy and agriculture, sports, and culture, were found there again.
During the first year of their mandate in the local communities covered by Istinomjer’s monitoring, greater or lesser activities were conducted on about 54 percent of the total number of promises from all pre-election programs of municipal heads and mayors. Some promises were rated as non-concrete or unfounded because their goals were not clearly defined or were given in a generalized manner. Some of them are also related to projects that were completed before the holding of the Local Elections themselves.
Banja Luka
Out of 22 promises found in Drasko Stanivukovic’s program titled “Djela sutra” (Works Tomorrow), work on fulfilling seven promises has started, while no activities were recorded on 15 of them.
Among the promises on which there were certain activities are tree planting, the start of construction of a center for day care of children with developmental difficulties “Predah”, construction of sewerage, arrangement of the Trapisti recreational zone, and others.
Bihac
The fulfillment of three promises of the Mayor of Bihac after the first year is in progress, and they relate to the construction of a tourist-rehabilitation center in Gata, the construction of an athletic track at the NK Jedinstvo stadium, as well as a football pitch with artificial grass.
Besides that, activities have also started on fulfilling 17 promises from Elvedin Sedic’s program. The promise about opening a safe house in Bihac was rated as unfounded, considering that the house was opened during the election campaign itself.
Bijeljina
The Mayor of Bijeljina, Ljubisa Petrovic, had 72 promises in his program, and of those, two received an ‘in progress’ rating after the first year of the mandate.
Construction of the Fire Station continued, and a monthly veteran allowance was introduced for demobilized soldiers of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) in a state of social need. Besides that, certain activities were recorded on the realization of 35 promises from Ljubisa Petrovic’s program, and they carry the rating ‘started’. Two promises were rated as non-concrete.
Centar Sarajevo
In the Municipality of Centar Sarajevo, Istinomjer recorded two fulfilled promises of Mayor Srdjan Mandic during the first year of his mandate.
At the end of October 2025, the reconstruction of the sidewalk on the left side of Marsala Tito Street was completed, and at the beginning of the year, the reconstruction of the Open Scene Obala was also completed. Eighteen promises from Mandic’s pre-election program received the rating ‘started’. Five promises of Srdjan Mandic were rated as non-concrete because their concrete goals were not clearly specified.
Bosanska Gradiska
Two promises of the Mayor of Bosanska Gradiska, Zoran Adzic, were also fulfilled. The construction of an exploitation well in Zeravica was completed, and the reconstruction of the Primary Music School “Branko Smiljanic” was also completed. The realization of both these projects began in the previous mandate.
Besides that, work has started on another 10 promises out of a total of 38 that Adzic had in his program. One promise from Adzic’s program was rated as unfounded.
Livno
The only fulfilled promise from the pre-election program of the Mayor of Livno, Darko Condric, related to the reconstruction of the fecal sewage network on the stretch from King Tomislav Square towards PZ Rasadnik, which was completed in mid-October 2025. Another 15 out of a total of 21 promises from his program received the rating ‘started’ after the first year of the mandate. Two promises of Darko Condric were rated as non-concrete, and one as unfounded.
Ljubuski
After the first year of the mandate, not a single promise of the Mayor of Ljubuski was fully fulfilled, while the fulfillment of two is in progress. The construction of the western bypass is underway, and the subsidization of free transport for all students has continued. Out of 27 promises from the program of Mayor Vedran Markotic, Istinomjer rated another 15 as started after the first year of the mandate. Three promises from Markotic’s program were rated as unfounded.
Novi Grad Sarajevo
In the Municipality of Novi Grad Sarajevo, the fulfillment of the promise regarding the construction of the XII transversal through this municipality is in progress. Construction of a part of this road from the Stup Interchange to the Sarajevo International Airport began in October 2025. Besides that, 16 promises from the program of Mayor Semir Efendic were rated as started, while activities were not conducted on the realization of 24 promises.
Novo Sarajevo
Also in the Municipality of Novo Sarajevo, in the first year of the mandate, fully fulfilled promises from the program of Mayor Benjamina Karic were not recorded.
The fulfillment of the promise regarding the construction of the southern stand of the Grbavica stadium, which began in October 2025, is in progress, and the reconstruction of the “Kolibri” kindergarten is also underway. Twenty-three promises of Benjamina Karic, who had a total of 42 promises in her pre-election program in the 2024 campaign, received the rating ‘started’. One promise from this program was rated as non-concrete.
Stari Grad Sarajevo
On the other hand, three promises from the program of the Mayor of the Sarajevo Municipality, Stari Grad, were fulfilled in the first year of his mandate.
The Strategy for Youth for the period 2024-2027 was created, a register of residential units with municipal ownership rights was formed, and the register of municipal business premises was upgraded. The realization of the promise relating to transport for students with disabilities is in progress. Out of a total of 65 promises of Irfan Cengic, 55 received the rating ‘started’ after the first year, while in the case of six promises, there was no progress.
Tuzla
The Mayor of Tuzla, Zijad Lugavic, had the most promises in his program – 168 of them, and in the first year of his mandate, seven were fulfilled, four received the rating ‘in progress’, and 74 received the rating ‘started’.
Some of the fulfilled promises from Lugavic’s program are the construction of the Slatina and Lipnica roundabouts, the opening of a coworking space, the creation of the Green Transition Strategy, and the remediation of the Husinski Rudar park. Work is in progress on fulfilling the promises regarding the introduction of city transport in Tuzla, the reconstruction of the Tušanj auxiliary stadium, the replacement of the facade on the SKPC, as well as the promise regarding communication with citizens via social networks.
Velika Kladusa
There were no fulfilled promises in Velika Kladusa either, and one promise of the mayor was rated as ‘in progress’ and related to investing at least 5 percent of the budget in sports and culture. Allocations for this purpose in 2025 amount to 8.76 percent of the total budget of Velika Kladusa. Besides that, 20 promises from the program of Mayor Boris Horvat were rated as started after the first year of his mandate. Six promises were rated as non-concrete. Out of a total of 47 promises, activities on the realization of 20 of them did not start in the first year of the mandate.
Visoko
From the program of the Mayor of Visoko, Mirza Ganic, in the first year of the mandate, promises regarding the modernization of Alija Izetbegovic Street, which was completed in August 2025, were fulfilled. Carsijska Street was turned into a promenade, and a roundabout was built at the junction of the R443 regional road and the A1 motorway.
The fulfillment of the promise regarding the reconstruction of Ozrakovici, Kadija Uvejs, and Bosne Srebrene roads with the construction of a pedestrian path is in progress. Out of a total of 77 promises from Ganic’s program, 31 carry the rating ‘started’, as many as 13 were rated as non-concrete, and one was rated as unfounded, Klix.ba writes.
