The Croatian Party of Rights of Bosnia and Herzegovina persists in challenging Slaven Kovačević's candidacy, arguing he cannot legitimately represent Croats, while the conflict escalates with a criminal complaint against the leader of HDZ 1990.
The Croatian Party of Rights of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HSP BiH) has filed a request with the Constitutional Court of BiH to review the candidacy of Slaven Kovačević for the Croatian member of the BiH Presidency. Kovačević, an advisor to the current Presidency member Željko Komšić, is set to face Darijan Filipović of HDZ BiH and independent candidate Zdenko Lučić, backed by a bloc of parties led by HDZ 1990, in the general elections scheduled for October 4, 2026.
Kovačević's candidacy is contentious for Croatian parties, as they believe he cannot legitimately represent Croats, given that Komšić was elected largely with Bosniak votes. HSP BiH had already attempted to challenge his candidacy in July 2026 with an appeal to the Court of BiH, but the court concluded there were no legal obstacles and that the candidacy complies with the constitution and the BiH Election Law.
In its appeal, HSP cited the BiH Constitutional Court's decision in the "Ljubić" case, emphasizing that it established the principle of legitimate representation of constituent peoples in governing bodies. They also noted that Kovačević had previously declared a different ethnic affiliation. The Court of BiH, however, reasoned that the constitution and the Election Law do not prescribe this principle for the election of Presidency members, but rather it is based on parity and territorial representation-two members from the Federation of BiH and one from the Republika Srpska.
HSP BiH now expects the Constitutional Court to determine whether Kovačević's candidacy is indeed constitutional. In a statement provided to media on Thursday, the party said:
"The appeal is an expression of our responsibility towards the constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the protection of the democratic order, and equality before the law. We believe that no one can be above the constitution or above the rules that apply equally to everyone."HSP also thanked legal experts from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia who participated in drafting the appeal.
The conflict further escalated in July 2026 when Kovačević filed a criminal complaint with the Court of BiH against Ilija Cvitanović, the president of HDZ 1990. The complaint followed Cvitanović's appearance on the Sarajevo commercial television station Hayat, where he disputed the existence of a joint criminal enterprise as defined by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in its verdict against Jadranko Prlić and others.
"That is a political verdict,"Cvitanović said at the time, inviting those who disagreed to report him.
In his complaint, Kovačević stated that Cvitanović committed the criminal offense of denying final verdicts for war crimes. Under amendments to the BiH Criminal Code imposed by former High Representative Christian Schmidt at the end of his mandate, this offense carries a sentence of six months to five years in prison. Cvitanović did not specifically comment on the complaint but continued to challenge Kovačević's candidacy.
"Croats cannot be represented by someone who spreads hatred towards Croats and who has nothing Croatian in him,"Cvitanović said in an interview with "Podcast s Brezom."
