As reported in its review article, the Serbian business publication Parametar, in In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the election campaign is coming to an end before the general elections on October 4. The vote will determine not only the internal balance of power in one of the most complex countries in Europe, but also future relations between Banja Luka and Sarajevo, the position of the Republika Srpska and the nature of Bosnia and Herzegovina's interaction with Serbia, the EU, the USA and Russia.
3,414,364 voters are included in the register. They elect three members of the Presidium of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the state parliament, the parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the People's Assembly of the Republika Srpska, the president and vice-presidents of the RS, as well as the parliaments of the ten cantons of the Federation.
Current Prime Minister Savo Minic is running for the post of president of the RS from the SNSD, while Branko Blanuša is the main candidate from the SDS. Bohdan Jovanovych and independent candidate Marko Jorgich are also running.
Milorad Dodik is not on the ballot, but he remains the leader of the SNSD and takes an active part in the party's election campaign. RTS notes that Dodik's political presence remains an important factor in the campaign in Republika Srpska.
For the Serbian seat in the three-member Presidium of Bosnia and Herzegovina, incumbent Presidium member Želka Cvijanović from SNSD, Marinko Božović from SDS and Nebojša Vukanović from List for Justice and Order are fighting for the Serbian seat in the three-member Presidium of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Croatian member of the Presidium. HDZ BiH nominated Dariana Filipović, the bloc of Croatian opposition parties supports Zdenko Lučić, and the Democratic Front supports Slaven Kovačević.
The position has been the subject of controversy for many years: Croatian parties demand a change in the election mechanism, pointing out that the current system allows the more numerous Bosnian voters to influence who will represent the Croats. Opponents of changing the model proceed from the need to preserve the existing voting rights of the citizens of the Federation.
The incumbent Presidium member Denys Bechirovych, SDA leader Bakir Izetbegovich, Semir Efendich and Fahrudin Radoncich are competing for the Bosnian seat.
Another great experiment of these elections is technology. Biometric identification of voters and scanning of ballots are being used for the first time on such a scale. The CEC has purchased a suitable system for polling stations, and observers are watching closely to see how it handles the workload after years of controversy over election transparency.
As Parametar reminds, Bosnia and Herzegovina actually exists simultaneously on several political levels. According to the 1995 Dayton Agreement, the country consists of the Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Brcko has a special status. The Federation, in turn, is divided into ten cantons.
Over this structure stand national institutions, in particular the three-member Presidium. At the same time, Republika Srpska and the Federation have their own parliaments, governments and a wide range of powers.
There is also another level - international supervision.
BiH is sometimes referred to in the press as an international protectorate, but legally this is not accurate. It is a sovereign state. After the Dayton Accords, the position of High Representative of the International Community was created, which oversees the implementation of the peace agreement in the civilian sphere and is endowed with extremely broad powers, known as "Bonn". They allowed the High Representative to make decisions and remove politicians from office.
That is why the result of October 4 has an important meaning far beyond the borders of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It will determine the balance between Banja Luka and Sarajevo, the composition of the country's collective leadership and the alignment of forces around further European integration, and will also be an indicator of how the Serbian, Bosnian and Croatian political components of the complex Dayton system will interact after the elections.
