The mayoral lineup in Canton Sarajevo (CS) hasn’t been this young in a long time, if ever, especially after the recently concluded local elections.
For years, voters have increasingly been turning to younger candidates.
For example, four years ago, Nermin Muzur, a 35-year-old politician, became the mayor of Ilidza. On Sunday, he won a new term, entering it at 39. Let’s remember that in previous years, Ilidza was ruled by SDA’s Senaid Memic, who left office at 64. He didn’t even run for a new term. Instead, SDA put forward Fikret Prevljak, a former general in the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH), who was 59 at the time of the election, making him 24 years older than Muzur.
If we look at Novo Sarajevo, we’ll see that there, too, a “generational shift” occurred. Benjamina Karic, who is just 33, won the mayoral race on Sunday. She defeated Muamer Bandic, who is 16 years older, and Nedzad Koldzo, who is 33 years older than her. It should be recalled that the previous mayor of Novo Sarajevo was Hasan Tanovic, who is 21 years older than Karic. Before him, Koldzo held the position for several terms.
In Novi Grad, the situation has remained the same since 2012 when Semir Efendic, then 29, became mayor. He easily won this year’s election and is now starting a new term as a 41-year-old politician.
One of the municipalities that has seen significant change in recent years is Stari Grad. For years, it was ruled by the experienced Ibrahim Hadzibajric. However, after he was arrested last year, Irfan Cengic, then only 31, took over in an extraordinary election. He is now starting his new term at 32, making him 29 years younger than Hadzibajric.
One of the few municipalities where citizens opted for an older candidate is Centar. There, Srdjan Mandic, who is 52, won another term. He is six years older than his main rival, Dennis Gratz. Centar has also previously been led by older candidates, as SDA’s Nedzad Ajnadzic held the position before Mandic.
If we look at Vogosca, we’ll see that in recent years it has followed the trend of other municipalities in CS. Therefore, Migdad Hasanovic remains at the head of this municipality. He is a politician who is starting his new term at 43. His predecessor, Edin Smajic, was 14 years older.
This trend continued in Ilijas. There, Amar Dovadzija, a member of NiP, was elected mayor at 42. His predecessor, Akif Fazlic, was 28 years older than Dovadzija.
In Hadzici, Eldar Comor, 43, was elected as the new mayor. He is 22 years younger than his predecessor, Hamdo Ejubovic.
Finally, we come to Trnovo, where voters did not make any changes. There, the mayor remains Ibro Berilo, an experienced SDA candidate who is 63.
To summarize: compared to 2020, the current situation is as follows. The average age of mayors in CS is now 43, while in 2020, that number was 51.5. If we go back to 2016, we’ll see that the average age of elected mayors was 53.4, which shows that the current lineup is 10 years younger.
This indicates that voters have recently been turning to younger, newer faces, especially as such politicians often defeat those who have ruled their municipalities before and are significantly more experienced, Klix.ba writes.
E.Dz.
