FIRST DAY OF OUT-OF-COUNTRY VOTING IN BOSNIA

SARAJEVO, Nov 22 (Hina) - Out-of-country voting in elections for the new Croatian parliament in Bosnia-Herzegovina is proceeding without problems, Romana Busic-Franulovic, the election coordinator at the Croatian Embassy in Sarajevo, told Hina on Saturday. #L# She confirmed that all 30 polling stations in the country were opened at 7 am, and that there had been no reports of any problems. The polling stations will be open until 7 pm. According to reports about voter turnout by noon, some 2,000 voters cast their ballots at 14 polling stations under the jurisdiction of the Croatian general consulate in Mostar. Some voters who had double permanent residence - in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, but did not have the necessary certificate issued in Croatia to prevent them from voting in both countries, were returned from polling stations. Most of these cases, around 50, were reported in Livno, causing protests among voters. Slightly less than 400 people went to the polls by noon in the northern Posavina Canton and Brcko District, which is around two percent of registered voters in Posavina. According to the Croatian general consulate in Banja Luka, around 50 of some 6,500 registered voters went to the polls by noon. Around 80 voters went to the polls in the western town of Bihac, while the best turnout was reported in Jajce, where some 140 out of 6,500 voters went to the polls. The lowest turnout in north-western Bosnia was reported in Prijedor, where only some 15 voters went to the polls by noon. (hina) rml