Bosnia and Herzegovina general election - October 12, 2014

[Zinneke]

http://balkanist.net/bosnia-herzegovina-election-guide-personalities-parties-prospects/2/

Komsic's Democratic Front party could unite the ethnicities in an anti-corruption movement. Though I can't see any progress in Republika Sprska, where reform is most needed, until Dodik is out of office.

[Zinneke]

Parties in the Federation:

Multiethnic parties

#Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina - SDP HiP is the successor to the old Communist party and a multiethnic, secular Social Democratic party in favour of a united Bosnia. Has 8 seats in the House. It is countrywide and also has a few seats in the Srpska National Assembly.

Democratic Front - DF is a Socialist/Social Democratic, multiethnic and secular party started in 2012 by the Croat member of the Presidency  Željko Komšić as a breakaway from SDP in protest against that they accepted the right wingers in HDZ joining the government. Komšić is an outsider in Bosnian Croatic politics and was elected mainly on Bosniak votes, so he is seen as an illegitimate representative for the Croats by many Croats (and Serbs). No seats in the House.

#People's Party for Work and Betterment - NSRzB is a small Social Liberal, secular and multiethnic (but mainly Croat) party with 1 seat in the House.

Democratic People's Union - DNZ is a strange mix of economic Libertarianism, euro-scepticism, homophobia and local patriotism  founded in 1993 by oligarch and war criminal Fikret Abdić, who led the small Velika Kladuša enclave in NW Bosnia during the war and collaborated with the Serbs. It is Bosniak-Croatian bi-ethnic and committed to regional autonomy for Velika Kladuša. Abdić was in jail 2002-12 for war crimes and is no longer leader of the party. It has 1 seat in the House.

Of course multi-ethnic is a bit of a misnomer. The SDP, for example receives nearly all of its votes from Bosniaks. On that note, will the Croats' representative again be elected by the Bosniaks for them?

http://balkanist.net/bosnia-herzegovina-election-guide-personalities-parties-prospects/2/

Komsic's Democratic Front party could unite the ethnicities in an anti-corruption movement. Though I can't see any progress in Republika Sprska, where reform is most needed, until Dodik is out of office.

Why would reforms be more needed in Republika Srpska? Unlike the Federation, it isn't divided into cantons to further complicate governing and their citizens seem to be more satisfied than those of the Federation, considering their low participation in the demonstrations at the beginning of the year.

Take a quick look at the unemployment rates in the RS, the rampant chauvinism that disgusts even the supposed reactionaries in Serbia proper, and the fact that Radovan Karadzic's successor party is still in power and openly boasts about the ethnic cleansing of RS.

Furthermore they are the ones blocking any transfer of powers to the Federal government. The secular Croats are willing to give more responsibility to the higher entity.

[Zinneke]

Take a quick look at the unemployment rates in the RS, the rampant chauvinism that disgusts even the supposed reactionaries in Serbia proper, and the fact that Radovan Karadzic's successor party is still in power and openly boasts about the ethnic cleansing of RS.

Furthermore they are the ones blocking any transfer of powers to the Federal government. The secular Croats are willing to give more responsibility to the higher entity.

SDS is in opposition.

My mistake, I thought the old SDS had merged with other parties to form the SNSD. Turns out htye still exist. Are they as openly secessionist as Dodik though. In the article i posted above the SDS was called pro-Bosnian by the SNSD. Is there any substantial evidence behind this accusation or is it just part of endless insults tossed between the entities.

[Zinneke]

The Central Electoral Commission: No further information tonight.

Press conference on Monday at 2pm when they will announce the preliminary results about all the 518 posts that were up for grabs in these elections.

Balkan Insight:
"What we know so far is that the Bakir Izetbegovic and Dragan Covic appear to have won the Bosniak and Croat seat in the presidency while the race for the Serb seat is still too close to call. On Monday we will also see how various parties did in the Federation and RS assembly and president as well as the cantonal assemblies".

Martin Raguz from HDZ1990: "When 100 per cent of votes are counted, I will be the winner of the Croat seat in the Presidency, not Dragan Covic."

Hope he is right...

Both of the HDZs are two sides of the same disgusting Ustashe-sympathising coin. Had the West not intervened and convinced Tudman to drop plans of a Greater Croatia, you would have seen similar to Srbrenica in the likes of Siroki Brijeg and Mostar (if the East had fell).

HDZ 1990 remains a successor party of the people responsible for that.

The SDP BiH has always been the lesser of many evils. Corrupt, incompetent, but not nationalist or religious (thank god that cleric got shafted in these elections too). Komsic's alternative is also a sound choice. But the Bosnian Croats have seemingly gone for nationalist parties instead.

[Zinneke]

Both of the HDZs are two sides of the same disgusting Ustashe-sympathising coin. Had the West not intervened and convinced Tudman to drop plans of a Greater Croatia, you would have seen similar to Srbrenica in the likes of Siroki Brijeg and Mostar (if the East had fell).

HDZ 1990 remains a successor party of the people responsible for that.

HDZ 1990 was taken over by moderates under Raguz last year and the hardliners have since left for HDZ BiH, even before that they were allied with the non-separatist HNZ and generally less hardcore. I have covered all that earlier in the thread.

(No offence, but why not read the thread from the start? I think I gave a lot of good info and your picture of Bosnian politics seems to be dated, first with not distinguishing between SNSD and SDS, the two main opponents in Srpska politics, and now with focusing on how HDZ 1990 used to be instead of the current situation)

It doesn't matter. The SDA in the Sandzak province don't advocate secession from Serbia, yet they are still the ones who consistently stir up nationalist tensions in the region. Are you going to paint them as moderates come Serbian election time too? The fact is these parties have a history that dates back to the Ustashe-apologists that set up the illegal state of Herceg-Bosna. Even if they have given up their pipe dream they still want only one thing : Croatian supremacy.

Do you remember when the SNSD were painted as ''moderates'' too? Apart from technicalities, there is nothing to distinguish SNSD and SDS, or the HDZs for that matter. Its just one mafia trying to replace another internally. The SDS and SNSD remain Serb nationalist parties with the long term goal of consolidating Sprska as an independent polity, symbolically attached to ''the Motherland'' to keep the real nationalists happy. So forgive me if I got the two mixed up when talking of Karadzic and his grip on Bosnian Serb politics. If I recall correctly both consider Karadzic to be a national hero.

If you look at the rhetoric all these minority interest parties employ in the country, you would understand why I find it laughable you call these people ''moderates''. Komsic is a moderate perhaps, the SDP has moderates. But HDZ-SDA-SNSD/SDS, the ''best of enemies'', being moderate?