The idea to declare Mostar the capital of the FB&H has been actualized again during the visit of Bakir Izetbegović to Mostar in mid-November. On that occasion, Izetbegović met with the leader of the Croat Democratic Union B&H (HDZ BiH) Dragan Čović and the new coalition partner Fahrudin Radončić.
The idea to make Mostar the capital of FB&H is 15 years old and the head of the City Board of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) Mostar Salem Marić said that the idea was discussed back in 1998. In 1998, the Peace Implementation Council highlighted that they have nothing against Mostar becoming the capital of B&H, given that certain prerequisites must be fulfilled. SDA Mostar considers that those prerequisites have been fulfilled and that the relocation of the capital of FB&H from Sarajevo to Mostar would mean a lot for Mostar.
“This way, Mostar would be given an opportunity for faster development, thus also supporting decentralization of authority which is precisely what Bosniaks are often blamed for – the fact that everything is located in Sarajevo. That would be a message that Bosniaks have nothing against relocating the authority in the entire B&H and the FB&H,” said Marić.
Izetbegović believes that relocating the capital of FB&H to Mostar would also contribute to the decrease in interethnic tensions in Mostar. However, everything is still being discussed exclusively within the SDA.
Five ministries of the Government of FB&H are already located in Mostar, but these ministries have dual offices in fact, in Sarajevo and in Mostar. It is not known whether the relocation of the capital of FB&H would mean closing all offices in Sarajevo nor what would happen to the employees in Sarajevo.
Issue of the capital of FB&H is regulated by the Constitution of FB&H, article 4, which explicitly states that the capital of FB&H is Sarajevo. If the relocation of the capital to Mostar would really start being implemented, that means that the Constitution of FB&H must be changed. Such process requires two-third majority in the Parliament of FB&H, which the coalition SDA, HDZ BiH, Alliance for Better Future (SBB), A-SDA and the Party for B&H (Stranka za BiH) might ensure.
It was also agreed at the meeting of party delegations led by Čović and Izetbegović that the negotiations on resolving the status of Mostar get intensified, in order for the local elections to be held.
(Source: klix.ba/ photo javno)
