Glavaš challenges Croatia’s leadership with Prefect bid

Branimir Glavaš announced his independent candidacy for Prefect of Osijek-Baranja County on Friday in Osijek, with the support of a coalition consisting of the Croatian Democratic Alliance of Slavonia and Baranja (HDSSB) and the county branch of the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS), CE Report quotes HINA.

Glavaš stated that he is not burdened by the outcome but added that he is confident the upcoming elections will produce results that will unsettle both the left and the right, as forming the County Assembly and city councils will be a major challenge for them.

He explained that the primary motive behind his candidacy is the current situation in Osijek-Baranja County, the city of Osijek, and the whole of Croatia.

“Thirty-five years after Operation Storm, the situation is such that one cannot sit with crossed arms and legs and just watch what is happening in this unfortunate country. I can’t believe who sits in the Croatian Parliament. When you compare the composition of Parliament from 1990 through to the death of Tuđman, and even in 2001 when HDZ lost power, it was a representative group of people qualified to speak, propose, and vote. Today, it's a group cobbled together randomly, and I find that disheartening,” Glavaš said. “That's why one must get actively involved to change this situation.”

He emphasized that more than 30 ministers have been replaced in the current Croatian government, “either because they are completely incompetent or because they are thieves.”

He also recalled that on October 26, 2023, he was sentenced in a non-final ruling to seven years in prison and claimed that a former government official, now a lawyer, told him that Vladimir Šeks had said Glavaš would receive a final verdict by May 18, 2025, and that the sentence would be eight years.

“After that, I decided to run in the elections—not only because I am convinced that, if elected, I would do a better job than the current administration in Osijek-Baranja County—but also because it would be a slap in the face to Vladimir Šeks and a hard slap to the Croatian judiciary,” Glavaš said, calling on the High Criminal Court to issue the final verdict and put an end to what he described as a farce that has lasted 20 years.

Glavaš is seeking his third term as head of Osijek-Baranja County and announced that he will present a candidate for mayor of Osijek as early as Monday.