Bosnian general election, 2010

Bosnia and Herzegovina general election, 2010

3 October 2010

First party Second party Third party   Leader Zlatko Lagumdžija Milorad Dodik Sulejman Tihić Party SDP BiH SNSD SDA Leader since 1997 1996 2001 Last election 5 7 9 Seats before 5 7 9 Seats won 8 8 7 Seat change 3 1 2 Popular vote 284,435 277,819 214,300 Percentage 17.3% 16.9% 13.1%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Mladen Bosić Fahrudin Radončić Dragan Čović Party SDS SBB HDZ BiH Leader since 2006 2009 2005 Last election 3 New 3 Seats before 3 New 3 Seats won 4 4 3 Seat change 1 New Popular vote 137,844 130,448 114,476 Percentage 8.4% 8.0% 7.0%

Colours denote the party with the most votes by municipalities

Chairman before election Nikola Špirić SNSD Elected Chairman Vjekoslav Bevanda HDZ BiH

General elections were held in Bosnia and Herzegovina on 3 October 2010 for both the Federal government and the two entities.^[1]

Voters elected 42 deputies to the State House of Representatives.^[2] In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), 98 deputies to its House of Representatives, two representatives (one Bosniak, one Croat) to the tripartite state presidency and ten cantonal assemblies were elected.^[2] In Republika Srpska (RS), 83 deputies to its National Assembly, the Serb representative of the tripartite state presidency, one RS president and two RS vice-presidents were elected.^[2] There were 39 political parties, 11 coalitions, and 13 independent candidates.^[3]

Background

After the Bosnian War and the Dayton Accords that ended the war, the constitution set out, in Article V, a tripartite rotational presidency between the Bosniak, Croat and Serb entities. Each president serves a four-year term, with the chairman of the presidential council rotation every 8 months, with the first president being the one with most votes in the election.^[4]

Candidates

Presidency

There were three candidates for the Bosniak member of the Presidency: the incumbent Haris Silajdžić, of Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina, the owner of Dnevni Avaz Fahrudin Radončić, of Union for a Better Future of BiH and Bakir Izetbegović of the Party of Democratic Action and the son of Alija Izetbegović, the founding president of Bosnia and Herzegovina.^[5]

The Croat candidate was: incumbent Željko Komšić from Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who was elected in 2006 when large numbers of Bosniaks voted for him rather than voting for a Bosniak candidate.^[5]

The Serb candidate was: incumbent Nebojša Radmanović of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, who was expected to win.^[5]

Campaign

Following the International Court of Justice's opinion that Kosovo's declaration of independence did not violate international law Republika Srpska's Prime Minister Milorad Dodik said there would be repercussions in Bosnia and Herzegovina and that the issue would be discussed in depth after the elections.^[6] During his campaign Dodik reiterated support for the secession of Republika Srpska from Bosnia and Herzegovina and denied that the massacre in Srebrenica constituted a genocide.^[7] Boris Tadić, president of Serbia, expressed his support for Dodik, Tadić stated that he was "here to support my friends who run RS in the best possible way".^[8][9] He was later criticised by the SDA for supporting "a man who openly denies genocide in Srebrenica and calls for secession of Republika Srpska."^[8]

The Croat and Bosniak candidates were "strong supporters of a unified Bosnia," while Serb candidate advocated the separation of the Bosnian Serbs entity from the rest of the country.^[10] Dodik asserted that "Only the Serb Republic is self-sustaining, Bosnia-Herzegovina is not." He had a "strategic partnership" with the Croat nationalist Dragan Čović to support each other's calls for greater independence or autonomy as the Croatian side advocated. The Bosniaks, however, said would fight for a united Bosnia, and sought a stronger federal government - a key condition for European Union membership.^[11]

These polls were described as the most crucial since the civil war as a lot of campaigning focused on ethnic nationalism and voting for candidates of the same ethnicity. One political analyst, compared this campaign to that of 1990, before the partition of Yugoslavia, when Bosnia had the choice of becoming a part of greater Serbia or an independent multi-ethnic country pointed out that "for exactly 20 years we have been spinning around in the same political pattern."^[4]

The official campaign started on 3 September, and lasted for next 30 days. Hate speech in the election campaign in BiH has become a normal occurrence. Because of that, Central Election Commission announced that they will not tolerate any form of hate speech.^[12] Nervousness of political parties was manifested through the violation of the Election Law of BiH,^[12] and particularly through the manipulation of so-called public opinion research and publication in the form of paid advertising. The first phase of the media war waged mainly through portals and news releases.

The campaign was significant because politicians were allowed to "use all their weapons" in publicity. Experts stated that this campaign was something new in Bosnia and Herzegovina because it was creative as opposed to the earlier campaigns.^[12]

• Our Party (NS) - Election campaign of the coalition of the Our Party nad New Socialist Party - Zdravko Kršmanović started on 3 September by laying a wreath at the memorial area of Donja Gradina, at the Jasenovac concentration camp.
• Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) - They started their election campaign with advertisements and election rallies in Banja Luka.
• Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) - SNSD started election campaign at noon of 3 September on Squer of Krajina in Banja Luka with simbolic sticking of their first propaganda poster. President of the SNSD and candidat for president of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik and president of Executive Board of SNSD and candidate for member of Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Nebojša Radmanović had stick that first propaganda poster.
• Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HDZBiH) - President of the party, prof. dr. sc. Dragan Čović hung out with the most socially vulnerable members of population. He stated that his party wants to emphasize the social care for people of Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially between Croats. Candidate for memeer of Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Borjana Krišto started her official campaign on 3 September from her birth town Livno. In the morning she laid a wreath at the Memorial Center in the Donji Rujani, and at noon she addressed to the citizens at King Tomislav's Square in Livno, then she hung out with the assembled multitude. At the presence of many citizens, friends and members of her family she stated that her start of election campaign is very symbolic because Livno is a Croatian town that "never lost a single battle". She also added that she will come back victorious and "...announce victory of the Croatian people."
• Union for a Better Future of BiH (SBB BiH) - At the first they of election campaign, supporters and sympathizers of the party had meet at the Iftar in Gradačac. At this meeting they stated that they will win the elections because they will "probably win those who gaved fake hope to the people previous years". About 600 fasting persons welcomed the party's president and candidate for Bosniak member of the Presidency, Fahrudin Radončić. Large number of syphatizers waited Radončić at the entrance of "Europrof", where they later continued with Iftar.
• Croatian Party of Rights - Candidate for Prime Minister of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton Živko Budmimir had opened his Election Campaign at midnight of 3 September. He talked to the police representatives and tour to the police patrols. Professor Petar Milić, president of the Main Department of Croatian Party of Rights of Bosnia and Herzegovina and candidate of Coalition of Croatian Democratic Union 1990 and Croatian Party of Rights for House of Representatives of Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina started his campaign with the most sensitive part of Croats - the exiles.

Opinion polls

Opinion polls suggested Dodik's "Alliance of Independent Social Democrats" would remain the largest Serb party, as well as the country as a whole. The "Social Democratic Party" of Zlatko Lagumdžija would be the largest party in the federation, followed by the "Party of Democratic Action."^[11]

An analyst at the "Why not?" NGO in Sarajevo suggested the elections importance was because "change will finally happen [...] because the ones who are in power now have proved they are not capable of leading the country and bringing the necessary reforms. Civil society has been very active about these elections and we hope this will have an impact." She said that if there were changes in the establishment ethnic relations would not be as tense.^[11] An August 2010 survey of 2,000 respondents by the National Democratic Institute. suggested that voters on both sides are tired of nationalist rhetoric and pessimistic about the future of Bosnia.^[13] 87 percent felt that nationalist parties are leading the country in the wrong direction.^[13] Respondents said politicians discussed nationalist issues too much, while employment and economic issues were not discussed enough.^[13] They thought that the biggest issue was unemployment, followed by corruption and crime.^[13]

Results

In total, 3,126,599 citizens registered to vote.^[2] There were 5,276 polling centres: 4,981 regular, 145 for voting in absentia, 143 for voting in person and 7 at Bosnian embassies abroad.^[3] There were also 1,200 observers, including 485 international observers.^[11]

The Central Electoral Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina ordered a recount of 66,138 votes that were declared void.^[14] This could change the victory of Nebojša Radmanović, candidate of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), who won the Serb seat of the central presidency by a narrow margin of 9,697.^[14] Mladen Ivanić of the Party of Democratic Progress (PDP) lost by less than two percent.^[14]

Presidency

Relative majority by municipality for presidential election in the Federation.

  Komšić

  Krišto

  Izetbegović

  Đedović

  Radončić

Municipalities with Croatian majority in BiH. Although Krišto won majority of Croat votes while Komšić won very few Croat votes, thanks to Bosniak votes, Komšić still became Croat member of the Presidency.^[15][16]

Candidate	Party	Votes	%
Bosniak member
Bakir Izetbegović	Party of Democratic Action	162,831	34.86
Fahrudin Radončić	Union for a Better Future of BiH	142,387	30.49
Haris Silajdžić	Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina	117,240	25.10
Mujo Demirović	Bosnian-Herzegovinian Patriotic Party-Sefer Halilović	8,951	1.92
Ðemal Latić	Party of Democratic Activity	8,738	1.87
Ibrahim Spahić	Civic Democratic Party	6,948	1.49
Izudin Kešetović	Bosnian Party	4,228	0.91
Aida Jusić	Independent	2,347	0.50
Croat member
Željko Komšić	Social Democratic Party	337,065	60.61
Borjana Krišto	Croatian Democratic Union	109,758	19.74
Martin Raguž	Croatian Coalition	60,266	10.84
Jerko Ivanković-Lijanović	People's Party Work for Betterment	45,397	8.16
Pero Galić	Independent	1,581	0.28
Mile Kutle	Independent	1,069	0.19
Ferdo Galić	Independent	975	0.18
Serb member
Nebojša Radmanović	SNSD	295,629	48.92
Mladen Ivanić	Together for Serbia	285,951	47.31
Rajko Papović	Union for a Democratic Serbia	22,790	3.77
Invalid/blank votes		141,053	–
Total		1,768,573	100
Registered voters/turnout		3,126,599	56.56
Source: CEC

House of Representatives

Party	Federation			Republika Srpska			Total
	Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
Social Democratic Party	266,023	26.07	8	18,412	2.96	0	284,435	17.33	8	+3
Alliance of Independent Social Democrats	8,810	0.86	0	269,009	43.30	8	277,819	16.92	8	+1
Party of Democratic Action	197,922	19.40	7	16,378	2.64	0	214,300	13.05	7	–2
Serb Democratic Party	–	–	–	137,844	22.19	4	137,844	8.40	4	+1
Union for a Better Future of BiH	124,114	12.16	4	6,334	1.02	0	130,448	7.95	4	New
Croatian Democratic Union	112,115	10.99	3	2,361	0.38	0	114,476	6.97	3	0
Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina	74,004	7.25	2	12,665	2.04	0	86,669	5.28	2	–6
Croatian Coalition	49,549	4.86	2	522	0.08	0	50,071	3.05	2	0
People's Party for Work and Betterment	49,050	4.81	1	–	–	–	49,050	2.99	1	0
Party of Democratic Progress	–	–	–	40,070	6.45	1	40,070	2.44	1	0
Democratic People's Alliance	1,147	0.11	0	28,511	4.59	1	29,658	1.81	1	0
Bosnian-Herzegovinian Patriotic Party-Sefer Halilović	28,102	2.57	0	602	0.10	0	28,704	1.75	0	–1
Bosnian Party	19,224	1.88	0	217	0.03	0	19,441	1.18	0	0
Our Party–New Socialist Party	11,917	1.17	0	7,518	1.21	0	19,435	1.18	0	New
Party of Democratic Activity	17,634	1.73	0	371	0.06	0	18,005	1.10	0	New
Democratic People's Union	14,843	1.45	1	310	0.05	0	15,153	0.92	1	0
Democratic Party	–	–	–	15,057	2.42	0	15,057	0.92	0	New
Socialist Party	–	–	–	14,573	2.35	0	14,573	0.89	0	0
SRS "Dr. Vojislav Šešelj"	–	–	–	14,320	2.30	0	14,320	0.87	0	0
Party of the Penniless People	11,462	1.12	0	237	0.04	0	11,699	0.71	0	New
Pensioners' Party	11,158	1.09	0	–	–	–	11,158	0.68	0	0
Serbian Radical Party	–	–	–	10,483	1.69	0	10,483	0.64	0	0
Serbian Progressive Party	–	–	–	8,636	1.39	0	8,636	0.53	0	0
Social Democratic Union	8,603	0.84	0	152	0.02	0	8,755	0.53	0	0
Croatian Peasant Party	3,522	0.35	0	4,574	0.74	0	8,096	0.49	0	New
National Democratic Party	–	–	–	6,692	1.08	0	6,692	0.41	0	0
Alliance for Serbian Democracy	–	–	–	4,911	0.79	0	4,911	0.30	0	New
Democratic Party of Invalids	3,577	0.35	0	47	0.01	0	3,624	0.22	0	0
Party for the People	3,174	0.31	0	–	–	–	3,174	0.19	0	New
Turnaround Coalition (GDS–NEP)	2,053	0.20	0	398	0.06	0	2,451	0.15	0	0
LDS–EES E-5	2,290	0.22	0	15	0.00	0	2,305	0.14	0	0
Independents	–	–	–	57	0.01	0	57	0.00	0	New
Invalid/blank votes	78,009	–	–	49,669	–	–	127,678	–	–	–
Total	1,098,302	100	28	670,945	100	14	1,769,247	100	42	0
Registered voters/turnout			–			–			–	–
Source: CEC

Elected MPs

SDP Denis Bećirović Zlatko Lagumdžija Hamdija Lipovača Mirsad Mešić Mirza Kušljugić Nermina Zaimović-Uzunović Saša Magazinović Danijela Martinović

SNSD Nikola Špirić Lazar Prodanović Milorad Živković Dušanka Majkić Milica Marković Boško Tomić Drago Kalabić Slavko Jovičić

SDA Amir Fazlić Šemsudin Mehmedović Šefik Džaferović Senad Šepić Zijad Jagodić Asim Sarajlić Salko Sokolović

Others SBB BiH: Ismeta Dervoz, Emir Kabil, Adnan Bašić, Mirsad Đugum SDS: Mladen Bosić, Darko Babalj, Borislav Bojić, Aleksandra Pandurević HDZ BiH: Dragan Čović, Niko Lozančić, Mato Franjičević SBiH: Beriz Belkić, Azra Hadžiahmetović Croatian coalition HDZ 1990-HSP BiH: Božo Ljubić, Zvonko Jurišić NSRzB: Mladen Ivanković Lijanović DNZ: Nermin Purić PDP: Vesna Krstović DNS: Petar Kunić

House of Peoples

The 15 members of the House of Peoples was elected following the elections by the parliaments of the two entities – 10 members by the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (5 Bosniaks and 5 Croats); and 5 members by the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska.

Canton Parliaments

All 289 seats in the assemblies of the cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina were up for election (Bosnian: skupština kantona, Croatian: sabor županije, Serbian: скупштина кантона).

	Party	USK	%	ŽP	%	TK	%	ZDK	%	BPK	%	SBK ŽSB	%	HNK ŽHN	%	ZHŽ	%	KS	%	K10	%	Total
	Party of Democratic Action (SDA)	21,104	23.38	1,602	10,29	45,058	24,68	35,144	25.00	2,509	22.90	16,285	17.33	9,927	14.85	0	0	31,459	17.82	1,130	4.72	164,218
	Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina (Za BiH)	7,280	8.07	452	2.92	14,995	8.21	12,055	8.57	1628	14.86	6,621	7.05	2,634	3.94	0	0	18,213	10.32	213	0.89	64,091
	Social Democratic Party (SDP)	20,902	23.16	816	5.24	56,188	30.77	35,724	25.41	2,682	24.48	16,764	17.84	9,005	13.47	252	0.74	42,692	24.19	990	4.13	186,015
	Party of Democratic Activity (A-sda)	11,019	12.21	0	0	4,303	2.36	1,822	1.30	201	1.83	555	0.59	60	0.09	0	0	1,726	0.98	0	0	19,686
	Union for a Better Future of BiH (SBB BiH)	6,438	7.13	512	3.29	19,088	10.45	18,110	12.88	1,383	12.62	12,207	12.99	4,953	7.41	0	0	30,619	17.35	304	1.27	93,614
	Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HDZ BiH)	591	0.65	6,413	41.19	5,627	3.08	7,330	5.21	0	0	20,417	21.73	22,623	33.83	17,526	51.65	1,846	1.05	6,247	26.09	88,620
	Liberal Democratic Party (Bosnia and Herzegovina) (LDS)	0	0	0	0	0	0	369	0.26	33	0.30	157	0.17	63	0.09	0	0	1,536	0.87	0	0	2,518
	Croatian Democratic Union 1990 (HDZ 1990)	527	0.58	3425	22.00	303	0.17	2,181	1.55	0	0	6,633	7.06	8,324	12.45	5,211	15.36	578	0.33	3,080	12.86	30,262
	Croatian Party of Right (HSP BiH)	7	0.01	454	2.92	*	*	*	*	0	0	*	*	3,235	4.84	4,358	12.84	*	*	2,284	9.54	10,338*
	Croatian Peasant Party – New Croatian Initiative (HSS - NHI)	0	0	606	3.89	135	0.07	503	0.36	0	0	2,914	3.10	0	0	0	0	243	0.14	1,217	5.08	5,618
	People's Party Work for Betterment	4837	5.36	336	2.16	8,980	4.92	9,059	6.44	1,085	9.90	5,710	6.08	2,262	3.38	3,883	11.44	5,549	3.14	2,264	9.46	43,965
	Democratic People's Alliance (DNS)	90	0.10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	65	0.07	0	0	0	0	0	0	1,205	5.03	1,360
	Bosnian-Herzegovinian Patriotic Party-Sefer Halilović (BPS)	857	0.95	0	0	6,764	3.70	4,825	3.43	705	6.44	1,508	1.60	1,148	1.72	0	0	8,509	4.82	0	0	24,316
	Democratic People's Community	11,844	13.12	0	0	0	0	250	0.18	0	0	0	0	5	0.01	7	0.02	196	0.11	32	0.13	12,334
	Pensioners' Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina	655	0.73	60	0.39	1,674	0.92	2,912	2.07	145	1.32	924	0.98	524	0.78	458	1.35	3,095	1.75	0	0	10,447
	Our Party (NS)	980	1.09	35	0.22	2,500	1.37	1,493	1.06	69	0.63	788	0.84	179	0.27	0	0	8,385	4.75	74	0.31	14,503
	Bosnian Party (BOSS)	314	0.35	46	0.30	4,429	2.43	1,968	1.40	255	2.33	1,199	1.28	200	0.30	0	0	6,247	3.54	0	0	14,658
	Social Democratic Union (SDU BiH)	889	0.98	0	0	4,501	2.47	164	0.12	0	0	362	0.39	0	0	0	0	6,019	3.41	89	0.37	12,024
	Union of Independent Social Democrats	1,012	1.12	0	0	450	0.25	310	0.22	130	1.19	166	0.18	794	1.19	0	0	1,641	0.93	3,089	12.90	7,592
	Others	914	1.01	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Source - Central Electoral Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina

	Party	USK	ŽP	TK	ZDK	BPK	SBK ŽSB	HNK ŽHN	ZHŽ	KS	K10	Total	+/-
	Party of Democratic Action (SDA)	7	2	10	10	6	6	5	-	7	2	55	-19
	Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina (Za BiH)	3	1	3	4	4	2	2	-	4	-	23	-36
	Social Democratic Party (SDP)	8	1	13	10	7	6	5	-	10	1	61	+18
	Union for a Better Future of BiH (SBB BiH)	2	1	4	5	3	4	3	-	7	-	29	-
	Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HDZ/HNZ/HSP)	-	8	1	2	-	7	10	13	-	7	48	+12
	Croatian Democratic Union 1990 (HDZ1990)	-	5	-	-	-	2	3	4	-	4	18	-11
	Croatian Party of Right/New Croatian Initiative	-	2	-	-	-	1	1	3	-	4	11	-3
	People's Party Work for Betterment	2	-	2	3	3	2	1	3	1	3	20	+10
	Bosnian-Herzegovinian Patriotic Party-Sefer Halilović (BPS)	-	-	2	1	2	-	-	-	2	-	7	-1
	Democratic People's Community	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	-2
	Bosnian Party/Social Democratic Union (BOSS/SDU)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	2	-3
	Union of Independent Social Democrats	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	3	-2
	Stranka Demokratske Aktivnosti A-SDA	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	?
	Posavska Stranka	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	?
	Our Party	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	2	?
	Democratic People's Alliance	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	?
	Total	30	21	35	35	25	30	30	23	35	25

Reactions

Štefan Füle, European commissioner for enlargement and neighbourhood policy, urged Bosnian politicians to speed up the establishment of State and Entity governments using the EU agenda as a negotiation base for coalition building. Füle underlined the need for constitutional amendments to ensure compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights and improve governance, for a new Census Law to provide reliable statistical data, and for the establishment of an independent state aid authority.^[17]

The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Bosnia and Herzegovina a week after the elections in an effort to push for political reforms to fully integration the entry into both the European Union and NATO. She also called for unity and criticised threats of secession of Srpska made by Milorad Dodik.^[18] A US diplomat in Europe said he thought the reforms are necessary and that "the Bosnians need to follow up. The rest of the region is moving towards Europe, and Bosnia is going to have to overcome these ethnic divisions [...] if they want to go down this path."^[19]

In the international media, the election was read as seeing the country "still mired in political deadlock and ethnic rivalry," because of a continued political stalemate that leaves the unique tripartite presidency split over the future of the country. This also meant a likelihood of a delayed economic recovery and the accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the European Union.^[20]

Analysis

Komšić's 2010 election results by municipality expressed as a percentage of total valid votes for each municipality. Note that the Bosniak and Croat members of the Presidency are elected from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity, while the Serb member is elected from the Republika Srpska entity (greyed out on the map).

Many officials of the Croatian Democratic Union party have claimed that the re-election of Željko Komšić (SDP) as the Croat member of the presidency was due to Bosniaks choosing to vote on the Croat list.^[21][22][23] Bulk of the votes Komšić received came from predominantly Bosniak areas and he fared quite poorly in Croat municipalities, supported by less than 2,5% of the electorate in a number of municipalities in Western Herzegovina, such as Široki Brijeg, Ljubuški (0,8%), Čitluk, Posušje and Tomislavgrad, while not being able to gain not even 10% in a number of others.^[24] Furthermore, total Croat population in whole of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is estimated around 495,000;^[25] Komšić received 336,961 votes alone, while all other Croat candidates won 230,000 votes altogether. Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina consider him to be an illegitimate representative and generally treat him as a second Bosniak member of the presidency.^{[16][26][27][28]} This raised frustration among Croats, undermined their trust in federal institutions and empowered claims for their own entity or a federal unit, while opening so-called "Croatian question".^[15]

The Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina of Zlatko Lagumdzija appeared to be the biggest winner of the election, while the Party of Democratic Action contained their expected losses, while the Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina of Haris Silajdzic lost ground. The Party of Independent Social Democrats of Milorad Dodik strengthened its presence in both Republika Srpska and at state level. None of the newly established parties, with the exception of Fahrudin Radončić's Union for a Better Future of BiH were able to pass the threshold and gain seats in either of the parliamentary bodies.^[17] Two blocs can therefore be noticed at state level: the Party of Independent Social Democrats|SNSD and Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina on one side and the Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Party of Democratic Action on the other. The negotiations to form a new government at both Federation and State level are expected to take some time.^[17]

In Republika Srpska Dodik secured a stable majority, and his election as Entity President will likely signal a trend of presidentialisation of Srpska's political system, in line with what happened in Serbia after Tadic's presidential election.^[17]

Aftermath

At the federal level, the formation of government is currently ongoing. There are two major coalitions which have been formed since the election: Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Party of Democratic Action, Croatian Party of Rights and People's Party Work for Betterment; and a looser grouping of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, Serbian Democratic Party, Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatian Democratic Union-1990. Neither group has a parliamentary majority, nor do they have full representation from the three constitutional peoples.

See also

• Republika Srpska general election, 2010

References

1. "BiH to hold general elections on October 3rd". SETimes. 6 May 2010.
2. "INTERIM REPORT No.1 26 August – 13 September 2010" (PDF). OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. 21 September 2010.
3. "2010 GENERAL ELECTIONS" (PDF). Central Electoral Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
4. "Bosnians vote in crucial elections". Al Jazeera. 3 October 2010.
5. "News Analysis: Few surprises expected in Bosnian general elections". Xinhua. 3 October 2010.
6. "RS: ICJ decision and secession". B92. 25 July 2010.
7. "Nationalism High, Hopes Low In Bosnia Election". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 1 October 2010.
8. Arslanagic, Sabina (30 September 2010). "Serbian President Publicly Backs Dodik Campaign". Balkan Insight.
9. "Tadic supports SNSD candidates ahead of elections in BiH". Tanjug. 30 September 2010.
10. Cerkez, Aida (3 October 2010). "Preliminary results show Bosnians divided on vote". Associated Press.
11. "Polls close in Bosnia election". Al Jazeera. 3 October 2010.
12. Tomić, Zoran (2010). Izborna kampanja u BiH: kako dobiti nešto za ništa.
13. "Public Opinion Poll Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) August 2010" (PDF). National Democratic Institute. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
14. "Bosnia: Ballot Recount Could Change Race for Top Post". Balkan Insight. 21 October 2010.
15. Luka Oreskovic: "Doing Away with Et Cetera", Foreign Policy. OCTOBER 30, 2013
16. International Crisis Group: Bosnia’s Future Europe, Report N°232, 10 July 2014
17. EU Observer, 6 December 2010
18. "Troubleshooting in the western Balkans: Outsiders needed". The Economist. 14 October 2010.
19. "Clinton calls for reforms in Bosnia". Al Jazeera. 12 October 2010.
20. Shaikh, Thair (7 October 2010). "Bosnia and Herzegovina still divided 15 years after war". CNN.
21. "Prvi službeni rezultati BiH izbora: u Predsjedništvu Izetbegović, Radmanović i Komšić". Slobodna Dalmacija. 3 October 2010.
22. "Bosnia Polls Results: Bosniaks Vote for Change". Balkan Insight. 4 October 2010.
23. "Nadmoć SNSD u RS, težak poraz Silajdžića". Blic. 5 October 2010.
24. Central Electorate Commission, results in municipalities, 2010
25. U BiH ima 48,4 posto Bošnjaka, 32,7 posto Srba i 14, 6 posto Hrvata (Article on the preliminary report of 2013 census)
26. Vogel, T. K. (9 October 2006). "Bosnia: From the Killing Fields to the Ballot Box". The Globalist. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
27. Pavić, Snježana (8 October 2010). "Nije točno da Hrvati nisu glasali za Željka Komšića, u Grudama je dobio 124 glasa". Jutarnji list (in Croatian). Retrieved 6 April 2013.
28. "Reforma Federacije uvod je u reformu izbornog procesa" (in Croatian). Dnevno. 13 May 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2013.

External links

• Central Election Committee BiH