Who Will Represent Croats in RS? The Final Race for Vice President Has Begun

There are only a few days left until October 4, for which the General Elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina have been scheduled. Voters are choosing members of the Presidency, representatives in parliaments, the houses of representatives of the Federation and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and representatives in the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, as well as the president and vice presidents of this entity.

By all means, one of the most important and interesting positions is the latter—the position of Vice President of Republika Srpska from the ranks of the Croatian people. This duty was performed in his first and only term by Dr. Davor Pranjić, an orthopedist from Banja Luka, and this year, four candidates are fighting for the position: three representing Croatian political options (Igor Balukčić, Franjo Jukić, and Ivan Kamenjašević) as well as a representative of the Social Democratic Party of BiH, Ivan Begić.

Who are the candidates in Republika Srpska for Vice President from the ranks of the Croatian people?

The HDZ 1990 coalition in the elections for Vice President of RS is represented by Igor Balukčić, a graduate economist from Teslić. Igor currently serves as the Vice President of the Assembly of the City of Teslić, which, as he says himself, he is particularly proud of, because for more than 20 years Croats did not have a single representative in the institutions of this city. He says that he entered the candidacy as a man of the people and someone who knows all everyday problems, so he wants the work in institutions to be real and effective.

If elected to the position of Vice President of RS, he says he will work on solving concrete infrastructural problems in Komušina, especially when it comes to water, lighting, and social content without which the survival of the people is questionable.

• Visiting the area of RS, I saw that the needs are not the same everywhere. For example, somewhere the problems are local roads and the reconstruction of housing units, while in the area of Banja Luka and Prijedor, the bigger problem is the protection of property and cultural heritage, and the accessibility of institutions, he said.

• I want the Croatian people to know that I come from a local community with entity, state, and international funds, Balukčić said, continuing that he believes the election will be decided by the question of credibility: who stood by the people before the elections, and not who treated them to a roast piglet. During the campaign, Balukčić pointed out and noted that he believes the Croatian people know he comes from an environment that knows what return, staying, and the struggle for equality mean.

• I will not betray the trust of the voters. I haven't so far either. I am aware that our people in RS have no time to wait. Changes will not come overnight, and I will do everything in my power to improve the situation in which Croats find themselves in this entity, Balukčić concludes the conversation, telling voters to go out and vote, because everyone has had enough of policy without impact, and progress begins right now.

The candidate of the coalition of parties gathered around HDZ BiH, Franjo Jukić, is from Žepče, but has been living in Banja Luka for the past ten years. There he finished college, earned his master's degree, and got married. He is a graduate forestry engineer and the father of one little girl, and he and his wife are expecting their second child.

He does not view the problem of family survival only through politics, but personally, as someone who decided to live here, work, and raise his family. Franjo has been active in numerous associations, organizations, and initiatives for the preservation of culture and identity, but also in promoting European dialogue and cooperation among people. He says that through this work he had the opportunity to cooperate with institutions and civil society organizations, as well as representatives of Croatian communities in BiH.

He is a member of HDZ BiH and a member of the presidency of the HDZ BiH Youth, as well as a newly elected member of the Council of the Government of the Republic of Croatia for Croats Outside the Republic of Croatia. Franjo pointed out that all previous meetings on the ground showed that it is extremely important for the Croatian people to have a representative who knows the people's problems, who will be present among them, and who will be their voice.

• We must be honest with the people and not promise what this function by itself cannot achieve, but the Vice President of RS must be a strong voice for the Croatian people, using his position so that questions and problems can be resolved, and that is why my goal is for the Office of the Vice President to become a real address for Croats. I do not want people to know about that Office only through the media. I want them to know whom they should turn to when they have a problem and that there is someone who will listen to them and pass their problem on to the competent institutions. My second priority is return and creating conditions for sustainable life, Jukić notes seriously, continuing:

• When we visit our communities, we talk about very concrete things—roads, drinking water, electricity, infrastructure, jobs, and other things that are necessary for a family to be able to live, Jukić pointed out.

Jukić believes that one cannot talk about a sustainable return without ensuring basic conditions for the people, and since he is a young man himself, it is up to everyone to create conditions that will make them want to stay. This implies connecting local entrepreneurs, institutions of RS, BiH, the Republic of Croatia, and European partners in order to realize opportunities for employment, self-employment, and education, and then the development of our communities.

Jukić considers the protection of identity, culture, associations, and the community equally important. He says it is not enough to just physically remain present, but to preserve unity and the ability to pass it on to future generations. The HDZ BiH candidate for Vice President of RS also pointed out that the European path must mean stronger institutions, equality, and more opportunities for the communities they come from.

• My approach to this duty is simple: less protocol and more time on the ground, fewer big words and more concrete results.

Ivo Kamenjašević (HSS BiH): Experience and protection of all issues of the Croatian people

The third candidate, Ivo Kamenjašević, was born in 1963 in Tramošnica and is the candidate of the group of parties gathered around HSS BiH. He graduated in business economics and has already performed duties in the Council of Peoples of RS. He has been in both the legislative and executive authorities. What prompted him to run is, above all, he says, the inactivity of his predecessors as well as their poor cooperation on the ground.

• Croats have been left on the margins of everything happening in recent years. I do not know for what reasons, but I feel that reasons exist. I feel them too as a resident of RS, Kamenjašević pointed out for Glas Hrvatske, stating that he comes from the people and will promote the policy of the people, not his personal policy or the policy of the party he leads in these elections.

He points out that he has been alongside the people his whole life, for business, for the economy, from the lowest to the highest levels. He says he also ran in 2010. However, he will not make promises; instead, he wants to resolve all the shortcomings he has noticed.

• We have major problems within our church community; parishes have problems with local communities where their properties are being taken, so we had to fight to have our property returned. I want to be a bridge between the people and institutions, so that a person could find their way more easily on the ground—and not only Croats, but also Bosniaks, and even Serbs who were expelled from their hearths and find it hard to exist in RS. I have experience and a vision, Kamenjašević told us.

He bases his campaign on his past work, because he believes he has done everything he planned and that the people know how to reward that. He will not promise anything, but simply connect terrains, people, and institutions. He says that problems in the local community should be solved by the local community. The Government of RS, he believes, has plenty of ministers, but it is important for the Croatian voice to be heard as well, and for all institutions to open up and become acquainted with the problems.

Kamenjašević says he believes in achieving the goal because he is different, and he appeals to his experience.

Along with these three candidates, Ivan Begić from the SDP registered for the elections as a candidate of the SDP BiH. Begić is a well-known figure in the elections. He has run for the position of Vice President of RS multiple times,

Ivan Begić is returning to the political race backed by SDP BiH with a mandate program focused on population return, infrastructure, rural development, transparency, and youth retention. He emphasizes administrative accessibility and open communication with all citizens, contrasting his approach with current officeholders.

Source: HRT