Sarajevo's Premier Defies Bosniak Ruling Party

Elvedin Konakovic told BIRN that he won't heed calls for him to quit as premier of the Sarajevo Canton, and that he will continue to speak out about what he alleges are corrupt activities linked to his former party, the Party of Democratic Action, SDA.

"If the cantonal assembly decides to replace me, that will be a purely political decision since this government has very good results so far," said Konakovic.

Konakovic resigned from all his positions in the SDA on January 30 and now the party is calling on him to give up the Sarajevo premiership.

"Yes, I am ready to put at risk my position [as premier] but I will not offer them my resignation," he said.

He alleged that media close to the SDA have been trying to tarnish his image, but said he would not remain silent about "various illegal activities in public companies".

"I was speaking about that even before I left the SDA, but you see that they are now trying to spin this in a way that I had benefits [as a party member] and now I am fighting against this [after quitting the party], which is nonsense," he said.

He said that 10,800 Sarajevans voted for him at local elections in 2016 and even though the mandate was given to him as a member of the SDA, he is proud of what his government has achieved so there is no reason for the SDA to ask him to resign.

As cantonal premier, Konakovic attracted public support for his attempts to address Sarajevo's major problems with air pollution, water supplies and city transportation.

He also repeatedly warned that the problems were a result of the SDA's long-term neglect and mishandling of Sarajevo's public services.

The SDA will soon decide whether to launch administrative moves to force Konakovic to step down, but that would...