By Amel Emric and Aleksandar Vasovic
SARAJEVO, Oct 1 (Reuters) – Bosnia holds national elections on Sunday which could impact its bid to join the European Union but also the influence that the United States and Russia hold over the small Balkan nation.
Voter frustration has grown over an economic slowdown, the pedestrian pace of EU entry talks and a political crisis threatening to split the nation of 3 million people.
Bosnia, the former Yugoslavia’s most ethnically mixed republic, has struggled to heal since its 1992-95 war which divided the country along ethnic lines.
The population has been in decline for 25 years, according to World Bank data, as international investment stalls, corruption persists and the young seek opportunities elsewhere.
Voters say they want to move beyond the divided rhetoric of the war years, but the politics appears stuck. Candidates rarely campaign beyond their core geographical base.
Damir, 47, from Sarajevo, said he hopes the elections will bring foreign investment, judicial reforms and an end to ethnic segregation. “I expect a bit more engagement from Europe … I hope they will realise that we are already a part of Europe and that we will remain so,” he said, declining to give his full name.
COMPLEX VOTING STRUCTURE
Bosnia is divided into two regions — the Serb-dominated Republika Srpska and the Bosniak-Croat Federation — linked by a weak central government.
The US-brokered peace accords that ended the war and created the country’s structure have helped maintain peace, but have been criticised for prolonging ethnic divides.
“Voters care more about issues that stretch beyond the ethnic divide, things like corruption, slow EU accession,” said Mario Bikarski, senior Europe analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.
Voters on Sunday will cast ballots for the country’s central tripartite presidency and national parliament, alongside regional legislative races in its two federal entities.
Preliminary results are expected to start being released from Monday.
The vote pits rival ethnic nationalist parties — the Bosniak SDA, Serb SNSD and Croat HDZ BiH — against multi-ethnic opposition coalitions led by the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
According to tracking platform Poliwave, the pro-European SDA holds a narrow national lead with 21.4%, followed by SDP at 16.7%. In Republika Srpska, SNSD, the party run by secessionist leader Milorad Dodik, who wants to maintain close ties with Serbia and Russia, is ahead with 34.2%.
POLITICAL CRISIS AND POWER STRUGGLES
Major powers have long sought influence over Bosnia, which is sandwiched between the EU’s eastern frontier and Russian ally Serbia. The EU is seeking to expand its membership across the Balkans, although progress has been slow.
The rivalry came into sharp relief last year when a Bosnian court sentenced Serb leader Dodik to a year in prison for defying the order of an international peace envoy. The sentence was later commuted to a fine.
Russia defended Dodik, in part because state police declined to go into his Serb stronghold to arrest him, although he is banned from running for office. Meanwhile, the US has sought to gain influence and last year lifted sanctions on Dodik to soften relations.
The Bosniak-Croat Federation is advancing a $1.5 billion pipeline project to import US natural gas run by a company with links to the Trump administration. The initiative sparked concerns from European Union officials, who warned that the selection of the company lacked the competitive transparency required for Bosnia’s EU accession.
Washington has also clashed with Brussels over the role of the High Representative — an international overseer who enforces the law of the Dayton accords. Christian Schmidt, a former German government minister, resigned in May under pressure from the US. The vacancy has triggered a diplomatic standoff between the United States and Brussels.
(Reporting by Amel Emric in Sarajevo and Aleksandar Vasovic in Belgrade; Editing by Edward McAllister and Xevi Fontdegloria)
