By: On behalf of the Assembly for the Republic: Dr Gorazd Trpin, Mr Jože Hribernik
After twenty years of Zoran Janković’s tenure as mayor, the time has come for a thorough and critical assessment of his leadership of Ljubljana. The Assembly for the Republic believes that his time in office has been marked by controversial decisions and actions that cannot be overlooked. For that reason, it opposes his re-election for the following reasons:
- Because of his misguided investment policy, which resulted in the unfinished Stožice sports complex and other allegedly overpriced major projects, such as the Ilirija sports facility.
- Because of his land-use and construction policies, under which, according to the statement, the majority of building land was sold for luxury housing developments instead of being used to provide adequate housing for young families and other residents of Ljubljana.
- Because of the inefficiency of municipal public services, including public transport and waste management.
- Because of the inadequate integration of railway infrastructure into the city of Ljubljana.
- Because of unclear connections with some of the most undemocratic regimes in the Balkans, such as Vučić’s Serbia and Dodik’s Republika Srpska.
- Because of the questionable ownership structure of Ljubljana’s utility company, which, according to the statement, is owned by a company from Republika Srpska for reasons that remain unclear.
- Because of numerous findings and indications of corrupt conduct allegedly associated with the mayor’s activities.
- Because of moral unsuitability, reflected, according to the statement, in opposition to the burial of victims of wartime and post-war massacres at the Žale cemetery.
- Because of alleged moral impropriety involving the performance of certain acts in exchange for sexual favours
- Because of creating obstacles for blind and visually impaired people in central Ljubljana, by allowing hospitality businesses to place tables on tactile pathways intended to assist spatial orientation.
- Because of the planned C0 sewer pipeline, which would run through a protected drinking water area serving Ljubljana.
- Because of plans to build an underground parking garage beneath the Ljubljana Central Market, creating a risk of damage to the cathedral, seminary, and other cultural monuments, including Jože Plečnik’s architectural works.
- Because of the destruction of pile-dwelling archaeological sites and other archaeological heritage of Ljubljana.
- Because of other actions that are unbecoming of the mayor of Ljubljana.
- Because of his attitude toward the massacres in Bosnia.
- Because of the concealment of ownership information regarding municipal land owned by the City Municipality of Ljubljana.
In light of all these documented accusations, it is time to “return Ljubljana to the people of Ljubljana” and to enable the city’s future development by not re-electing Zoran Janković as mayor.