MAZALICA: SUNDAY'S VOTE IS NOT BETWEEN TWO CANDIDATES, BUT MESSAGE TO SCHMIDT

BANJA LUKA, NOVEMBER 21 /SRNA/ – The people of Republika Srpska in the early presidential election are not choosing between the character of candidates or the parties supporting them, but choosing whether to say “no” to those who brought us into this situation, Srđan Mazalica, head of the SNSD Club in the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, has stated for SRNA.

Mazalica pointed out that the call from the SDP – and earlier from the FBiH Minister of Interior Ramo Isak – for their sympathizers not to vote for the SNSD candidate Siniša Karan is a clear signal of who their favorites in Srpska are, and why. "Ramo Isak is saying openly what Bosniaks think. What the mosque will say quietly, Ramo will say publicly – and that is that they want to interfere in the electoral process in Srpska. And we all, more or less, know why they want that", Mazalica said. He noted that these elections are not about choosing the character of a candidate, or the parties that support them, nor is it a choice between one professor or another. "In this election, we are sending a message to those who brought us into this situation – the Prosecutor’s Office, the Court, the CEC, /Christian/ Schmidt, /Michael/ Murphy and Sarajevo’s political establishment, of which Ramo Isak is a part. They all blow into the same horn. That is why the victory of any candidate other than Siniša Karan would mean a victory for Schmidt and everyone I mentioned, including Ramo. Because everything they have done has been aimed at removing Milorad Dodik and his politics", Mazalica stressed. He pointed out that the presidential mandate until 2026 belongs to Dodik, and Dodik believes that his policies should be continued by Karan. "If Karan does not win and with him the policies of Dodik, Karan and the SNSD – then Schmidt, the Prosecutor’s Office, the Court, the CEC… will have succeeded", Mazalica warned. Therefore, he added, if Karan loses, Schmidt will likely remain, because that would mean that the people punished those who stood up to Schmidt. "That would further mean that the Serb, freedom-loving and anti-fascist people think Schmidt is a good thing which would further imply that the Serb people and Ramo Isak think alike", Mazalica concluded.