Brussels, 14/10/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 13 October, the European Union hailed the “overall orderly conduct of elections” in Bosnia and Herzegovina on 12 October, and also offered its congratulations on the high level of participation. Only 53% of the 3.3 million registered electors turned out to vote, however. “While awaiting confirmation of the final election results, we look forward to the early formation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's institutions and governments at all levels”, said the spokesperson for High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton. Those elected to office “must begin to work on addressing key challenges for the country as soon as possible”, Ashton's spokesperson added.
On Friday 10 October, Ashton's spokesperson had underlined that the developments in Bosnia-Herzegovina this year “clearly demonstrate what are the issues which are perceived as priorities by the citizens, and point to the urgency with which these need to be tackled”. “Voters will look to those elected to office to bring much needed reconciliation in society and politics, and to revive the positive momentum enabling Bosnia and Herzegovina to unlock its real potential, close the gap with the rest of the region and ensure progress towards the EU”, Ashton's spokesperson had added.
Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland stated on 13 October that the elections seem “to have been conducted in line with technical standards for free and fair elections”. Yet “again, a significant number of citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina have been deprived of their right to stand for the highest office because they belong to the wrong ethnic group”, Jagland stated. “The newly elected bodies will face a colossal challenge to reverse the current economic situation and improve social conditions”, he added.
Ashton's spokesperson said that note had been taken of the statement on preliminary observations by the OSCE/ODIHR, “which conducted a long-term and comprehensive observation of these elections”. The OSCE observation mission considered that these elections were held in a “competitive environment”, but that “the inter-ethnic divide” and “mistrust” were “a key factor”. The candidates were able to campaign freely and fundamental freedoms of expression, association and assembly were respected, according to the OSCE - which also added that voting had taken place in an orderly way, but that technical irregularities had been noted during the day, with the process becoming considerably worse during the vote-count. Ashton's spokesperson thanked the Bosnia-Herzegovina central electoral commission for its work and said “we (...) support its efforts to follow up on election-related complaints”.
The Bosnians were called to vote for three members of the tripartite collegial presidency, and for parliamentarians from the two territorial entities - the Republika Srpska (RS) and the Muslim-Croat Federation - for a four year mandate. The inhabitants of the RS also appointed their own president. The outgoing president, Milorad Dodik, has apparently come out in top position. The candidates backed by the main nationalist formations - Muslim, Serb and Croat - have reportedly won the tripartite presidency. (CG)