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Bosnians cast ballots amid economic woes, ethnic rifts

12 October 2014, 19:13 CET
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Bosnians cast ballots amid economic woes, ethnic rifts

Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik - Photo EC

(SARAJEVO) - Bosnia voted in general elections Sunday amid mounting social discontent over endemic corruption, ethnic disputes and economic woes that have troubled the country's rapprochement with the European Union.

Nearly 20 years since a devastating war between its Croats, Muslims and Serbs, Bosnia-Hercegovina is one of Europe's poorest and remains split along ethnic lines.

The 1992-1995 conflict, which killed 100,000 people, left the former Yugoslav Republic divided into two semi-autonomous entities -- the ethnic Serb Republika Srpska and the Muslim-Croat Federation -- linked by weak central institutions.

Some 3.3 million voters were eligible to cast ballots to elect three members -- a Croat, a Muslim and a Serb -- to the joint presidency, as well as a new central parliament. They will also elect assemblies for the two entities and a president in Republika Srpska.

"Nothing functions in this country," Mirsada Grgo, a 64-year-old pensioner from Sarajevo, said bitterly, echoing the discontent of many Bosnians.

"The time has really come for a change. People have been sleeping for too long, and this is their last chance to wake up."

Some 5,400 polling stations closed at 7:00 pm (1700 GMT). The electoral commission said that four hours before voting ended turnout stood at 36.6 percent -- a point higher than similar polls in 2010.

- Nationalist pitch -

As always ahead of elections here, politicians have returned to nationalist rhetoric to woo voters, notably Bosnian Serbs.

Their nationalist leader, Milorad Dodik, running for a new term as Republika Srpska president, has renewed threats his entity might secede.

"The aim of my policy is that we are less and less an entity and more a state!" Dodik told a recent electoral rally.

On Sunday, he said he was certain of an "absolute victory" for his SNSD party.

Ivana Saric, a student from Sarajevo, said she had voted for a small, multi-ethnic party. But she said she did not believe many would follow her example.

"People are afraid to vote for major change, possibly because they are traumatised by the past. Twenty years ago they chose democracy. That brought them independence and then, later, war."

- EU deadlock -

Bosnia's economic doldrums form a grim backdrop to the vote, with an official unemployment rate at 44 percent and an average monthly salary of 415 euros ($525).

Corruption that has plagued the country since its inception now costs taxpayers some 750 million euros annually, according to non-governmental organisations.

Growing public discontent escalated in February into the kind of popular uprising not seen since the brutal conflict of two decades ago.

Thousands took to the streets to protest the government's failure to fight graft and introduce political and economic reforms needed for the country to gain EU membership.

Major floods in May, which caused an estimated two billion euros in damages -- roughly 15 percent of Bosnia's gross domestic product -- have further aggravated the economic situation.

And Bosnia's EU aspirations have been put on hold by political deadlock since 2006 due to ethnic tensions.

Politicians from the three major ethnic groups have failed to agree on reforms needed for membership in the 28-nation European bloc, leaving Bosnia lagging behind its fellow Balkan countries.

On Sunday, Bakir Izetbegovic, running for a second term as the Muslim member of the presidency, said he expected voters to choose leaders capable of "overcoming the current deadlock that blocks the country's integration into EU and NATO... and pull it out from economic slump."

Political analysts warn that incoming elected officials will have to act quickly to prove their worth to a public which is otherwise likely to stage a new round of protests.

An EU statement on Friday said Bosnians should expect their elected officials "to bring much needed reconciliation in society and politics... close the gap with rest of the region and ensure progress towards the EU".

First partial results were expected around 2200 GMT.


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