AFP/DPA/Sarajevo

Bosnia voted in general elections yesterday amid mounting social discontent over endemic corruption, ethnic disputes and economic woes that have troubled the country’s rapprochement with the European Union.
Nearly 20 years since a devastating war between its Croats, Muslims and Serbs, Bosnia-Herzegovina is one of Europe’s poorest and remains split along ethnic lines.
The 1992-1995 conflict, which killed 100,000 people, left the former Yugoslav Republic divided into two semi-autonomous entities – the ethnic Serb Republika Srpska and the Muslim-Croat Federation – linked by weak central institutions.
Some 3.3mn voters are eligible to cast ballots to elect three members – a Croat, a Muslim and a Serb – to the joint presidency, as well as a new central parliament.
They will also elect assemblies for the two entities and a president in Republika Srpska.
“Nothing functions in this country,” Mirsada Grgo, a 64-year-old pensioner from Sarajevo, said bitterly, echoing the discontent of many Bosnians. “The time has really come for a change. People have been sleeping for too long, and this is their last chance to wake up.”
By 3pm (1300 GMT), four hours before polling stations were to close, turnout stood at 36.6%, the electoral commission said – a point higher than similar polls in 2010.
The pace was up by 1.5 percentage points from the turnout at the corresponding time in 2010. Then around 56% of the electorate voted.
As always ahead of elections here, politicians have returned to nationalist rhetoric to woo voters, notably Bosnian Serbs.
Their nationalist leader, Milorad Dodik, running for a new term as Republika Srpska president, has renewed threats his entity might secede.
“The aim of my policy is that we are less and less an entity and more a state!” Dodik told a recent electoral rally.
Yesterday, he said he was convinced in an “absolute victory” of his SNSD party.
Such statements were a “manipulation” which could bring nationalists back to power, according to sociologist Ivan Sijakovic.
Ivana Saric, a student from Sarajevo, decided to vote for a small, multi-ethnic party. But she said she did not believe many would follow her example.
“People are afraid to vote for major change, possibly because they are traumatised by the past. Twenty years ago they chose democracy. That brought them independence and then, later, war.”
Bosnia’s economic doldrums form a grim backdrop to the vote, with an official unemployment rate at 44% and an average monthly salary of €415 ($525).
Corruption that has plagued the country since its inception now costs taxpayers some €750mn annually, according to non-governmental organisations.
Growing public discontent escalated in February into the kind of popular uprising not seen since the brutal conflict of two decades ago.
Thousands took to the streets to protest the government’s failure to fight graft and introduce political and economic reforms needed for the country to gain EU membership.
Major floods in May, which caused an estimated €2bn in damages – roughly 15% of Bosnia’s gross domestic product – have further aggravated the economic situation.
Bosnia’s EU aspirations have also put on hold by political deadlock since 2006 due to ethnic tensions.
Politicians from the three major ethnic groups have failed to agree on reforms needed for membership in the 28-nation European bloc, leaving Bosnia lagging behind its fellow Balkan countries.
Yesterday, Bakir Izetbegovic, who is running for a second term as the Muslim member of the presidency, said that he expected voters to choose leaders who are capable of “overcoming current deadlock that blocks the country’s integration into EU and Nato ... and pull it out from economic slump”.
Political analysts warn that incoming elected officials will have to act quickly to prove their worth to a public which is otherwise likely to stage a new round of protest.
An EU statement on Friday said that Bosnians should expect their elected officials “to bring much needed reconciliation in society and politics ... close the gap with rest of the region and ensure progress towards the EU”.
European parliamentarian Tanja Fajon voiced hope that pro-European politicians would emerge victorious and “return Bosnia’s credibility”.