Nationalist parties dominate elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina

06/10/2008

On Sunday, local elections for mayors and city council members occurred in all municipalities of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Observers said voters largely followed ethnic loyalties.

By Jusuf Ramadanovic for Southeast European Times in Sarajevo – 06/10/08

About 55% of registered voters turned out for Sunday's (October 5th) elections. [Getty Images]

On Sunday (October 5th), local elections occurred in Bosnia and Herzegovina for mayors and city council members seeking four-year terms.

Observers characterised the results as largely following ethnic lines. Political scientist Asim Mujkic of Sarajevo University said to Reuters, "If this trend continues, the parliamentary election in 2010 will amount to an ethnic census."

One of the biggest winners was Republika Srpska (RS) Prime Minister Milorad Dodik's Union of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD, which won 32 mayoral races, including those in Banja Luka and the majority of towns and cities in RS. The Serb Democratic Party (SDS), the other major contender in RS, retained the mayoralty in Doboj, while in Bijeljina, the SDS-SNSD mayoral contest remains undecided.

Another big winner was the predominantly Bosniak Party of Democratic Action (SDA), which, according to preliminary results, won 38 mayoral races, including those of six municipalities in Sarajevo and a number of municipalities in and around Tuzla. It also gained strength in central Bosnia, where it defeated the Croat Democratic Union of BiH (HDZBiH). "The SDA is on its way to becoming the strongest political party on the whole territory of BiH," SDA President Sulejman Tihic told Dnevni Avaz.

The HDZBiH, while losing in central Bosnia to the SDA, won 15 mayoral contests nationwide. It did best in the Croat-dominated towns in BiH, such as Capljina and Tomislavgrad, where it won mayoral races. It also won in Mostar.

The multiethnic Social Democratic Party (SDP) also won some key victories. Voters re-elected all of its incumbent mayors -- those of two municipalities in Sarajevo and of several municipalities in the Tuzla and Bihac cantons, most notably in Brcko.

This year, the two BiH entities -- Federation of BiH (FBiH) and RS -- mandated all towns needed a simple majority to choose their mayors.

According to preliminary election data, voter turnout was about 55%, though it was higher in rural than in urban areas. In cities, such as Sarajevo, Tuzla, Zenica, Mostar and Banja Luka, turnout ranged between 40% and 50%.

There were over 1,300 international and local monitors. Authorities reported no major security problems. There were, however, some violations of the blackout on campaign advertising the day before the election, the principal case occurring when RS state TV aired a commercial promoting the ruling SNSD on Saturday.

The Central Election Commission will publish final results within 30 days.