Gordan Matkovic to Remain Mayor of Osijek

The mayor of Osijek Gordan Matkovic will not resign because coalition partners HSP, SDP and HNS will not support Ante Djapic.

OSIJEK, CROATIA - The mayor of Osijek, Gordan Matkovic, who is from HSP (Croatian Party of Rights), did not resign on Friday as the mayor, as he said, because of technical conditions.

According to personal announcements at the request of his party and its president Ante Djapic, he should have resigned as the mayor of Osijek, and Djapic was to take over.

However, Osijek’s mayor Matkovic told the press that he will not resign because there are no technical conditions for it, because the coalition partners of HSP, which are SDP (Social Democratic Party) and HNS (Croatian People’s Party), do not want to support Djapic for mayor.

The president of Osijek’s SDP, Biljana Borzan, said hat support for Djapic would not be wise, considering the affairs that Djapic was mentioned in recently, adding that nobody is guilty until their guilt is proven.

Djapic remains president of the city council

The president of the city council and parliamentarian Anto Djapic, said today that HSP is giving up on Matkovic’s resignation, because he (Djapic) does not have the technical conditions to take the position of mayor. He also evaluated that their coalition partners acted incorrectly, especially SDP.

Gordan Matkovic has already written his resignation, but has not signed it, and remains the mayor until further notice, and Anto Djapic remains president of the city council.

Vice-mayor Ivan Vrdoljak, who also announced his resignation because he does not get along with Anto Djapic, said that he remains vice-mayor until further notice, and that “coalition partners have to sit down and arrange what to do next as soon as possible”. He said it was understandable that Djapic is giving up on the position of mayor.

The ruling coalition in Osijek’s city council is comprised of members from: HSP (9 seats), SDP (3), HNS (1) and HSU (Croatian Pensioner’s Party) (1). The opposition are: five members from HDSSB (Croatian Democratic Parliament of Slavonia and Baranja), five members from HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union) and one from HSS (Croatian Peasant’s Party).