Questions about a hospitality investment involving the family of Koper mayoral candidate Nik Popovič have entered Slovenia’s local-election campaign, less than two weeks before voters choose their next mayor on 15 November. During an Info360 election debate, Popovič was asked about a Serbian business partner and claims about that person’s past. He defended the legality of the venture, while incumbent Mayor Aleš Bržan said he had previously discussed related concerns with police.
The allegations were described by the Slovenian newspaper Primorske novice on 6 November, drawing on an election debate moderated by journalist Suzana Kos. They are politically relevant because Popovič is a candidate for the Koper je naš list, while his father Boris Popovič — a former Koper mayor — is running in neighbouring Izola. The reporting does not establish that Nik Popovič, his family or their business partners committed a crime in connection with the investment.
What emerged in the Koper election debate?
During the debate, Kos asked Nik Popovič about the redevelopment and operation of a restaurant at Bernardin on Slovenia’s coast. According to Primorske novice, the venture involved an investment described as worth approximately €1 million, an amount presented in the debate rather than independently audited in the material reviewed by Votendi.
Popovič confirmed his family’s involvement. He said the company EFG, which he owns, rented premises from state-owned Sava before Serbian partners joined the project. He described helping arrange the local side of the business and said the partners had the capacity to operate a large restaurant.
The debate identified Aleksandar Dabić as one of the Serbian business partners. Popovič also named Vladimir Gajić and said there were preliminary agreements concerning the transfer of ownership stakes. The public-register picture of the company’s ownership and Popovič’s description of its intended economic ownership were not identical, according to the report.
Past allegations, and Popovič’s response
The moderator referred to earlier reports in Serbian media about Dabić, including mentions in a Serbian police document on organised criminal groups. These are historical media and police-intelligence allegations, not proof of criminal guilt. Neither the debate nor the sources reviewed for this article establish a criminal conviction connected to those claims, or a finding of wrongdoing involving the Bernardin venture.
Popovič said he had not researched his partners’ past in detail and knew them as businesspeople involved in hospitality. He maintained that the transactions were carried out lawfully and rejected any suggestion that the deal itself demonstrated criminal conduct. He also denied that Dabić was financing his father’s mayoral campaign in Izola. Info360’s 5 November video excerpt features part of the exchange.
Asked about the issue, incumbent Koper mayor Aleš Bržan said he had heard concerns about visitors allegedly linked to Serbian criminal groups and had discussed the information with police. His remarks were not an announcement that the candidate or the venture had been charged with an offence. Fellow mayoral contender Mateja Hrvatin Kozlovič said the information surprised her. Primorske novice reported the candidates’ responses.
Where the Koper mayoral race stood before the controversy
The latest representative Koper mayoral survey verified for Votendi’s Slovenia election hub is the Mediana poll for OBALAplus, conducted 12–18 October 2026 among 526 respondents in the City Municipality of Koper. Its candidate support figures were:
| Candidate | October poll |
|---|---|
| Aleš Bržan — incumbent, Lista Aleša Bržana | 35.6% |
| Nik Popovič — Koper je naš | 16.4% |
| Mateja Hrvatin Kozlovič — backed by Gibanje Svoboda and Za vedno Koper | 14.1% |
| Undecided respondents | 12.9% |
Source: OBALAplus / Mediana; fieldwork 12–18 October 2026, n=526. Percentages refer to respondents to that survey, not to a Votendi polling average or an election outcome.
The survey predates the November debate. No representative post-debate Koper poll has been verified for this update, so there is no sound basis to claim that the business questions have changed candidate support. The figures should be read as a dated snapshot, not as a forecast.
Beyond the business dispute: What Koper voters are being asked to decide
The October Mediana survey also points to substantive policy questions in the election. Some 91.3% of respondents considered improvements to water supply important or very important, while 88.5% highlighted transport links between the town, suburbs and rural areas, and 87.3% cited housing for young people. The campaign has also included discussion of the Solis development, other urban infrastructure and local governance. OBALAplus published these issue-priority findings.
Those policy questions remain separate from the business-partner controversy. Transparent ownership and financing can be legitimate subjects for scrutiny of candidates, but allegations must be distinguished from documented transactions, responses from those named and any legally established findings.
The election timetable
Slovenia holds municipal elections on 15 November 2026. If no mayoral candidate receives an absolute majority of valid votes, the two leading candidates face a runoff on 29 November. The dates are set out by Slovenia’s government.
For Koper, the next developments worth documenting are any official clarification of the business ownership arrangements, any responses or documents released by the parties involved, new verified polling using the complete candidate field, and the results of the first round. At present, the November allegations cannot be translated into an evidence-based electoral shift.
Follow Votendi’s Slovenia Local Elections 2026 hub for coverage of Koper, Ljubljana and Maribor, and read our three-city election analysis for the wider political and polling context.
Reporting sources: Primorske novice, 6 November 2026; Info360 video excerpt, 5 November; Mediana / OBALAplus poll; Slovenian government election schedule.
