The prime minister and leader of the HDZ, Andrej Plenković, supported Daria Filipić, the candidate of the party, at a final pre-election rally of the HDZ BiH and its coalition partners in Mostar. The rally took place ahead of the general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which are to be held on Sunday, 4 October.
Plenković stated that the election of Filipić would, in his view, mark the beginning of what he calls the legitimate representation of Croats in the collective Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. "The time has come for a legitimate representation in the Presidency," Plenković said, highlighting the issue of equality in the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He added: "The support of the HDZ of Croatia, which I am speaking about now in my capacity as prime minister, has already been shown and proven, and it will be the same in the future, with a legitimate member of the presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who genuinely represents the Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina." He added that the time has come for a legitimate representation in the Presidency and equal rights in all other institutions, as he stated that equality is the foundation of trust.
Filipović, in the final stretch of the campaign, stressed that she would insist on the political equality of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina and called on voters to go to the polls. "On Sunday, there is an opportunity for the unity of the Croatian people. On Sunday, there is an opportunity for great things for Bosnia and Herzegovina," Filipović said, adding that the Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovine continue to insist on equal rights.
Three candidates are running for the position of member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition to Daria Filipić from the HDZ BiH, the list includes independent candidate Zdenko Lučić, supported by five Croatian opposition parties, and Slaven Kovačević from the Democratic Front of Željko Komšić. Komšić was elected to the position of Croatian member of the Presidency with the votes of Bosnian voters, which is why the representatives of the official Zagreb have not met with him officially.
In the elections, members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina are elected, as well as members of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the House of Representatives of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the president and vice-presidents of the Republika Srpska, members of the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska, and members of the assemblies of ten cantons in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The polling stations will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with the voting silence starting on Saturday, 3 October, at 7 a.m. and lasting until the closing of the polling stations in Sunday at 7 p.m.
