Preparations for general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, scheduled for October 7, have entered their final phase after all the political parties finalized the process of submitting their full candidates’ lists to the Central Election Commission, CIK. Although the eighth post-war general election comes in the middle of the country’s worst crisis since the 1992-5 war – and may not even lead to the establishment of new governments on all levels due to the broken election law [link to past reports] – the competition among local political rivals is fierce as ever. The CIK has meanwhile confirmed that 67 parties and 34 independent candidates have been certified to participate in the elections, in which 3.3 million verified voters in the country and abroad will be voting for new institutions at state, entity, cantonal and district levels.
But, as popular frustration grows with Bosnia’s self-centred politicians, and as quarrels and power-plays within and among all ethno-political blocs and parties intensify, experts warn that these elections will likely bring only more uncertainty.
“It looks almost like the politicians also got tired of politics,” veteran journalist and editor of the Sarajevo daily Avaz, Sead Numanovic, told BIRN.
Full Article: Bosnia Heads Towards Polls Tipped to Worsen Uncertainty :: Balkan Insight.
