ViewsWeek Views from around the world
The Party of Democratic Action, SDA, based on 86 per cent of counted votes, will likely take the lead position in Bosnia’s new state-level government after it won around 28 per cent of the votes in the country’s Federation entity – around 233,000 votes in all.
The president of the Central Election Commission of B&H, Stjepan Mikić said at the press-conference at midnight, just after the election day, that 1.747.244 e.g. 54,14 % out of 3.227.543 voters at the central voting list voted at the election. In the FB&H, 1.064.024 voters e.g. 52,73 % of them out of 2.018.038 registered voters voted. In RS, 683.220 e.g. 56,94 % out of 1.209.505 registered voters voted.
“Compared to data from 2010, published at midnight too, the turnout is smaller in 2014 when it comes to percentage. Nevertheless, nominally, it’s bigger.” – said Mikić. He added there is yet counting of the voters who voted via mail, mobile teams to come as well as those who were absent and unconfirmed.
“There is a certain number of them and it’s possible that the percentage can still increase a bit.” – said Mikić.
For positions at state level, the Democratic Front, DF, came second in the Federation with around 128,000 votes while from Republika Srpska, the Serbian Democratic Party, SDS, came second with around 193,000 votes.
A coalition of Croatian parties lead by the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina, HDZ BiH, came top among the Croatian community and is positioned to take up the seats allocated to Croats in the new coalition government.
Bosnia’s state-level government comprises ten seats, three of which belong to each of the three main ethnic groups, Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats. One is set aside for “others”, or for a minister without an ethnic affiliation.
The Banja Luka-based Nezavisne novine daily reported Lazar Prodanovic of the SNSD as saying that talks on the composition of new governments at entity and state level are likely to start before November.
”We expect to participate in the composition of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina as that is the only realistic option,” he said, adding that the entity government in Republika Srpska would likely be formed earlier.
While the SNSD has emerged as the main party in Republika Srpska for the entity coalition, it is still not clear what form the new parliamentary majority there will take.
In the Federation entity government, the SDA, the DF and the HDZ BiH are likely to be the main parties in a future coalition.
The party that came second in the entity elections, the Alliance for a Better Future, SBB, led by Fahrudin Radoncic, has already said it will stay in opposition.
Radoncic himself finished second in the race for the Bosniak seat on the state Presidency to the SDA leader, Bakir Izetbegovic.
“We won around 15 more seats than the DF, but our policy is still to remain outside the government and be leaders of the opposition,” he said.
Rivalry between the two large Bosniak parties has lasted since the SBB was formed in 2009 prior to the last general elections in 2010.
This article first appeared in BalkanInsight. Click here to go to the original.
