The Democratic Action Party (SDA) Deputy Leader Safet Softic is convinced in Sefik Dzaferovic’s victory at the general election in October 2017. Dzaferovic is a stable anchor which Bosnia needs, Softic said

Sefik Dzaferovic is the SDA’s candidate for the Presidency member of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was elected at the recent SDA Convention in Sarajevo.

The SDA is convinced in Dzaferovic’s victory, he said, but it will require a “serious pre-election campaign.”

Speaking about Dzaferovic’s opponent, the Social Democratic Party’s (SDP) candidate, Denis Becirovic he said that his age (42) could be an advantage as well as a disadvantage, compared to Sefik Dzaferovic, who is 60.

The way in which Becirovic was elected as SDP’s candidate is controversial for Softic, adding that the SDP provided only an illusion of democracy when electing their candidate.

“The SDP made a show for the public. They offered a candidate which they elected in advance. On the other hand, there was no fraud during the SDA’s convention, I guarantee it,” Softic said.

Prior to both parties conventions, they both announced they would hold an inter-party election on who the party candidate for the Bosniak seat at Bosnia's tripartite Presidency will be.

The SDP held a “referendum” which lasted for 3 days and during which 40,000 SDP members had the right to vote. Around 29,000 members had cast their vote, of which more than 26,000 voted for Becirovic.

On the other hand, two top SDA candidates pulled out of the race prior to the Convention. With 2 top candidates out of the race, the third runner-up Sefik Dzaferovic won the party’s confidence.

Softic also commented on the Croatian Law on State Property Management which allows the Croatian authorities to manage the property belonging to the counties formed by the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, including Bosnian property.

He told N1 that Bozo Ljubic, a Croatian Parliament member originally from Bosnia should have protected Bosnia's interests.

“There sits a man who sat in Bosnia’s Council of Ministers, after which he was elected in the Croatian Parliament. Ljubic was born in Bosnia, this is his homeland and he should have voted in accordance with these facts,” Softic concluded. “He should have protected the Bosnian interests in the Croatian Parliament.”

Bozo Ljubic was a member of the Croat Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HDZ BiH). He came to prominence when in June 2005 he opposed the internal election of Dragan Covic as party Leader, claiming election fraud. After this, he formed the HDZ 1990 party. In 2014 he left HDZ 1990 and he has given his support to HDZ BiH in the Bosnian general election, 2014. Today Ljubic is the Head of the General Council of the Croat People’s Assembly (HNS) which gathers most of the Croat parties in Bosnia. He is also a member of Parliament of the Republic of Croatia.