SARAJEVO, Sept 26 (Hina) - The European Union's High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana, on Thursday called on Bosnian citizens to vote in large numbers in the October 5 general election and support
those political forces which are willing to implement the necessary political and economic reforms.
SARAJEVO, Sept 26 (Hina) - The European Union's High Representative
for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana, on Thursday
called on Bosnian citizens to vote in large numbers in the October 5
general election and support those political forces which are
willing to implement the necessary political and economic reforms.
#L#
Solana is on a two-day visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina the purpose of
which is to inspect the course of preparations for the start of
operation of the European Union Police Mission (EUPM), which is to
replace the current UN police mission at the beginning of next
year.
Following a meeting with Bosnian Foreign Minister Zlatko
Lagumdzija, Solana told reporters the EUPM would start operating as
planned, adding that this was another indicator of the EU's
readiness to help stabilise the situation in the country.
He stressed, however, that Bosnian citizens would have the
opportunity to make important decisions on whom to give their vote
in the upcoming election.
British Foreign Minister Jack Straw also addressed Bosnian
citizens ahead of the general election.
In a message forwarded by the British Embassy in Sarajevo, Straw
said that the October 5 vote would determine if Bosnia would draw
closer to European institutions or continue lagging behind other
countries in the region.
Straw urges Bosnian citizens to go to the polls and vote for reforms
which are necessary for their better future.
Dissatisfaction with current political parties among a significant
number of Bosnian citizens and their possible abstention from
voting are currently a major cause for concern in the international
community.
High Representative Paddy Ashdown has forwarded all potential
voters a message which since early this week has been delivered to
all home addresses throughout the country. His message is identical
to Solana and Straw's - vote and support reforms.
A low turnout would be grist to the mill of nationalist parties
which have a relatively homogenous electorate. Over the past two
weeks these parties have been aggressively campaigning, claiming
that the basic national interests of the ethnic groups they are
representing are threatened.
The latest opinion polls in the country show that the influence of
nationalist parties - the Serb Democratic Party, the Croatian
Democratic Union and the Party of Democratic Action has been
slightly increasing compared to moderate parties such as the
Socialist Democratic Party.
(hina) rml