Bosnia and Herzegovina (SBiH) - Election - 2010
With elections approaching, by early 2010 political leaders from each ethnic group are ratcheting up nationalist rhetoric and their maximalist demands, thus making it less likely that they will be able to reach bold agreements on substantive issues that would advance Bosnia's Euro-Atlantic aspirations. Voters in Bosnia-Herzegovina cast ballots in general elections that were seen as crucial for the future of the fragile former Yugoslav republic which is divided between its ethnic Croats, Muslims and Serbs. Reflecting the complexity of the state, voters cast ballots for a central parliament and the members of the collective presidency - one representative for each of Bosnia's Croat, Muslim and Serb nationalities. Additionally, voters elect deputies for assemblies of the country's two entities, known as the Muslim-Croat Federation and the Serbs' Republika Srpska. In Republika Srpska people also chose a new president.
The election outcome perpetuated the political stalemate in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The three-person presidency remained deadlocked over the country's future, with two leaders of the ethnically divided nation advocating unity and a third pushing for its breakup. Over three million voters had the choice between a whopping 8,000 candidates for Bosnia's central parliament, several regional assemblies, the Bosnian Serb president and vice president, and the federal presidency, which is shared among the main ethnicities.
The son of Bosnia's wartime Muslim leader was elected one of the country's three presidents, who each represent either Muslims, Croats or Serbs. The late President Alija Izetbegovic's son, Bakir, said he was ready to work with all ethnic groups in the fractured nation. The man ahead for the presidency's Croat seat, Social Democrat Zeljko Komsic, was also seen by election observers as a supporter of a unified, multiethnic nation.
But the favorite for the presidency's Serb representation, Nebojsa Radmanovic of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, wants Bosnian Serbs to split from the rest of the country. His views are shared by the Serbian entity's Prime Minister, Milorad Dodik, who became Republika Srpska's president.
But the political leaders were unable to reach agreement on formation of a coalition government at the state level. The division of government portfolios among the potential coalition parties was at the heart of the dispute. In the meantime, progress on reforms required for the country’s European and Euro-Atlantic integration – goals shared by the overwhelming majority of the country’s citizens – ground to a halt. The political stalemate also prevented the government from passing a national budget. As a result, Bosnia and Herzegovina was unable to take advantage of aid offered by international financial institutions, and had also fallen behind its neighbors on its path to European integration.
On 28 December 2011, the country’s elected leaders finally broke the nearly 15 month stalemate and agreed on how to designate ministerial positions, adopted a budget and agreed to move forward other legislation necessary if Bosnia and Herzegovina is to join the European Union. Thus the leaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina took a small but significant step toward overcoming the obstacles towards the country’s international integration. After sixteen months of haggling, obstructionism and posturing, on 24 February 2012 Bosnia And Herzegovina had a new government. The country’s new prime minister, Vjekoslav Bevanda promised that the new government’s first order of business would be to address the country’s economic problems, including adopting a state budget for 2012.
Following an encouraging start to 2012, with politicians engaging in dialogue and reaching agreement on a Council of Ministers, budget and key EU legislation, progress stalled and reverted to the prevailing negative trends of the previous six years. Unfortunately this dynamic continued during 2013, with little real progress achieved by the country’s leadership towards the country’s self-proclaimed goals of European and Euro-Atlantic integration. At the same time, the political crisis in the Federation and direct challenges to the Peace Agreement – including to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina – continued. These combined factors, against the backdrop of real economic and social hardship for large parts of the population, caused understandable concern within the international community.
Not all the news has been bad, however. The state-level Council of Ministers, which underwent a party reshuffle in November 2012, met regularly. The state budget for 2013 was adopted on time, the first time in two years. In general, however, the state-level coalition had so far been unable to deliver much needed progress on the legislative front.
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