POLLING STATIONS OPEN FOR BOSNIA MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS

SARAJEVO, Sept 13 (Hina) - Two thousand and three hundred (2,300) polling stations opened at 07.00 am Saturday in Bosnia-Herzegovina for two-day municipal elections. According to first reports from the capital Sarajevo, the pullout at polling stations in the city was not big after the opening, as the voting will take two days. However, there is still uncertainty about the voting in Mostar. Sarajevo radio broadcast on Saturday morning that the deputy mayor of Mostar, Safet Orucevic, called on inhabitant of that southern city not to go to polling stations until the Neretva- Herzegovina cantonal assembly adopt a Mostar amendment to the cantonal constitution. According to the radio, the assembly session is scheduled for 02.00 pm Saturday and the Moslem side has said that it will announce its final decision on whether to go to the polls after the session. Last night the head of the OSCE mission in Bosnia, Robert Frowick, decided on some changes of election rules and regulations, under which eligible voters from the central zone of Mostar are now told to cast their ballots in one of six municipalities. The Bosnian polling stations open from 07.00 am to 07.00 pm on Saturday and Sunday. The international community has invested 14 million dollars into organisation of the elections, and 40,000 NATO-led Stabiliation Force troops are supposed to ensure the safety and security during the voting. There are 2,525,230 eligible voters in Bosnia who have been already registered in voters' rolls drawn up by the OSCE. People coming at the polls have to prove their identity and show some of their personal documents and are advised to show registration papers in order to accelerate the process. After casting their ballot each voter will be marked by a special invisible ink, used during last year's election as well, so that everybody will be prevented from voting at several polling stations. The elections are being followed by 2,450 OSCE supervisors of 39 countries and by another 300 international supervisors. The U.S. special envoy for the Dayton peace accords' implementation, Robert Gelbard, who arrived in Sarajevo on Friday evening, will also supervise the voting. After the completion of elections, ballots will be transported to the SFOR base in Rajlovac, outside Sarajevo, where the centre for counting votes is housed. First results of the elections are expected on 20 October. (hina) mš 131005 MET sep 97