SARAJEVO, Oct 19 (Hina) - The chief Electoral Commission on Sunday released final officials results of the October 5 general elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The results show that national parties have won a majority of votes, but
this relative victory will not make it possible for national parties to set up, on their own, executive authorities on the state level.
SARAJEVO, Oct 19 (Hina) - The chief Electoral Commission on Sunday
released final officials results of the October 5 general elections
in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The results show that national parties have
won a majority of votes, but this relative victory will not make it
possible for national parties to set up, on their own, executive
authorities on the state level. #L#
According to the results announced by the commission's head, Lidija
Korac, leaders of the three national parties - the (Muslim) Party of
Democratic Action (SDA), the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) and the
Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) - Sulejman Tihic, Mirko Sarovic and
Dragan Covic respectively, officially became the new members of
Bosnia's three-man presidency.
Even 16 parties will enter the 42-seat parliament on the state
level.
The SDA won 10 seats, and is followed by the HDZ and SDS, which will
have five seats each. Thus, their possible coalition with 20 seats
will not be enough for a parliamentary majority.
Therefore lengthy talks can be expected about possible coalitions
to be formed by national parties or by other parties to the effect of
the establishment of the new state executive authorities.
Another possible coalition might be gathered around the Party for
Bosnia (SBiH) with five seats, the Social Democrats with four seats
and the Party of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) led by Milorad
Dodik from the Serb entity. The latter has three seats in the state
parliament. This coalition must have the support of one deputy of
the Serb Radical Party, but this is at the moment almost
improbable.
The balance of forces in the Croat-Muslim entity (i.e. the
Federation) is to some extent different.
In the 98-seat federal parliament, the SDA will have 32 and HDZ 16
seats. This is a good start, as they can expect the support of some
of 16 parties that have one or two representatives in the federal
parliament.
The elections showed that in the Republic of Srpska, the SDS
(established by war criminal Radovan Karadzic) remained the
strongest party. The SDS candidate Dragan Cavic scored a convincing
victory in the race for this entity's president. At this ballot, the
Serb entity's two vice-presidents, who should be of the Croat and
Bosniak (Muslim) ethnic descent, were for the first time elected.
Thus, a Croat, Ivan Tomljenovic of the SDP and Adil Osmanovic of the
Bosniak SDA will fill these posts.
In the 83-seat parliament in this entity, the SDS will have 26 seats
and will have to form coalition if it wants to establish new
executive authorities. Dodik's SNSD has 19 seats. Both the SDS and
SNSD are expecting an answer about the coalition from the outgoing
premier, Mladen Ivanic, whose Party of Democratic Progress (PDP)
will have nine seats in the Serb entity's assembly.
Parties that have run in the general elections have a three-day
deadline for lodging any compliant about the counting of votes.
The commission's head Lidija Korac once again refuted objections to
the manner of the allocation of the so-called compensation
mandates. It was national parties that complained most about this
method.
Korac said the commission had only consistently applied the
Electoral Law, and added that the international community had
exerted no pressure in this regard.
In compliance with the said law, the new state parliament should be
constituted in the coming 30 days, the assembly in the Federation in
the coming 20 and the assembly in the Serb entity in the coming 15
days.
(hina) ms