One of the leaders of Bosniaks from Montenegro in the diaspora Esad Rastoder he publicly asked the president of the Bosniak Party (BS) what happened to the money that Ervin Ibrahimovic allegedly received from a countryman in New York for the campaign in last year's parliamentary elections and invited him to make it known or he will publish this information.
The president of the Bosniak Union of Montenegro in the United States of America told "Vijesta" that he made the recording that is circulating on social networks, and said that on Sunday at 20 p.m. he will publish another in which he will clarify the details of how much money is involved and who donated everything.
In the video, he criticizes the Bosniak Party for entering the Government with the parties of the former Democratic Front (DF) and calls on Ibrahimović to announce where the money collected for the campaign is.
"When the elections were held a year ago, he should tell the people and the membership how much money was collected in New York at the Bosniak Center, and that money was collected to finance the BS campaign. How much money did he take to Montenegro and how did he transfer it," Rastoder announced and added that if Ibrahimović does not say so, he will call the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (ASK) to determine where the money ended up and whether it came to the treasury BS.
He told the leader of the strongest minority party in Montenegro that "enough lies and fraud".
"He has another family, a father, a mother. There are others who would employ their relatives or someone of theirs, not only yours. What you have done now is not in front of the Bosniak people, but only in front of your half-brothers and sycophants," said Rastoder.
The Bosniak Party did not respond to questions about whether the Bosniak Union of Montenegro from New York donated money for the campaign for the parliamentary elections last year, nor whether they received donations from abroad.
"We don't even want to comment on the nebula and untruths of various spiritualists, who come every day, on assignment, to slander BS and President Ibrahimović. We have a lot of work to do to help the Bosniak people, which is why we became part of the 44th Government. Such and similar nonsense are diverting the public's attention from essential topics", they said in the answers they submitted to the newspaper.
In the Report on the expenses of the election campaign for the parliamentary elections in June 2023, which BS submitted to ASK, no donations from private sources were reported, while they spent slightly more than 40.000 euros from public sources, while they transferred 6.000 euros from their own funds. Ibrahimović's party submitted the report on July 7 of the previous year.
The Law on the Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns prohibits participants in elections from receiving material, financial assistance and non-monetary contributions from other states, companies and legal entities outside the territory of Montenegro, natural persons and entrepreneurs who do not have the right to vote in Montenegro, anonymous donors. ..
According to data from the party's website, their representatives visited the diaspora in the largest American city in April last year, as patrons of the Iftar in the Bosnian Islamic Cultural Center Plav-Gusinje. The vice president addressed those present on behalf of BS Damir Gutic and spokesperson Adel Omeragić.
This is not the first time that representatives of that party visit the diaspora before the elections.
Ibrahimović visited the Home Club "Bihor" from Luxembourg on May 1 last year, a little more than a month before the parliamentary elections, while he went to the same country on July 13, 2020, also on the eve of the elections for the state parliament.
In the 2023 presidential campaign, the former head of state Milo Djukanovic and the leader of BS met with Montenegrin emigrants in Hanover.
Also, at the end of September 2022, on the eve of local elections in several municipalities, the leader of BS and the then Minister of Capital Investments, as well as the State Secretary in that department Admir Šahmanović, they met with representatives of the diaspora association in New York, while Ibrahimović traveled in tandem with the president of the party's Roza committee during his visit to expatriates in Frankfurt Mirsad Nurković.
On the eve of the 2018 presidential elections, in which BS supported the candidate of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) Milo Đukanović, the political competition accused them of receiving money from emigrants and of "dishonorably persuading the diaspora to vote". At that time, these claims were made by a member of the Rožaj Committee of the URA Civic Movement Hajruš Kalač, but even then "Vijesti" was not told whether money was collected for the campaign abroad.
Ibrahimović called several times to allow Montenegrin citizens living abroad to vote in diplomatic and consular missions, and he called the diaspora "the biggest investor" and "development resource".
Several times the leader of BS spoke on behalf of Montenegrin emigrants, so two years ago he said that "the diaspora is worried about the status of members of national minorities", and in 2020 he spoke on their behalf that they wanted to reconstruct the Health Center in Rožaje and in the parliament asked the then of the Minister of Health Kenan Hrapović whether that department accepts the donation of funds.
Until mid-October, BS was considered a certain constituent of the future cabinet, but he is the mandate holder for the composition of the government and the president of the Europe Now Movement (PES). Milojko Spajic then suddenly abandoned the arrangement with them and agreed with the Democrats, the Socialist People's Party (SNP), the Albanian Forum and the Albanian Alliance, with the parliamentary support of the Alliance for the Future of Montenegro (ZBCG), which are the parties of the former DF.
At the time, PES told "Vijesta" that BS refused to be in power with ZBCG and that it demanded that the Social Democrats (SD) be included in it, while BS stated that they did not even have time to make a statement about Spajić's offer of a minority government with ZBCG, and some sources from BS claimed that they did not even receive a formal offer.
During the negotiations, it was speculated that four portfolios and one vice-presidential position in the government could belong to BS.
BS: Projects broke entry into the Government
The Bosniak party announced yesterday that the agreement on entering the reconstructed Government of Prime Minister Milojko Spajić stipulates that capital projects in places where Bosniaks live will be a priority in the coming period, as well as that Ibrahimović defined the projects in the agreement with Prime Minister Spajić.
In the statement signed by the strongest minority party in Montenegro, the strategic goals of their entry into the executive power are listed as: securing finances for the completion of the Štedim ski resort, actualizing the opening of the Rožaje-Peć tunnel, opening the Plav-Dečani road, providing funds for the revitalization of Plav Lake, road reconstruction Gusinje-Grebaje, the end of the Plav-Gusinje road via Kruševo, the Petnjica-Bioče road, the valorization of the Đalovića cave, the Cmiljača ski resort, the Sveti Ivan-Mrkojevići-Sukobin road, the boulevard through the settlements of Čeluga and Zaljevo in Bar.
Bonus video: